Whispers in the Dark
by MistFloo
Summary: The morning of Annabeth Chase's 12th birthday, the day her life got tipped upside down. A strange boy called Percy appears in her room, and she's the only one who can see or hear him. Is his company a blessing, or a curse? Will they resolve their differences, become friends as the years pass, and maybe more? All rights to Rick Riordan!
1. Chapter 1

**Thank you for taking a chance and reading my story, I won't disappoint you.**

Chapter 1

Annabeth's POV

He was there when I woke up, it was the morning of my twelfth birthday. Light was streaming through my thin grey curtains, dimly illuminating the room. I'd woken, dreading the awful school day ahead where people would tease and bully me as usual. But then I saw him, sitting on my chair looking around the room in confusion. I sat up in my bed, wondering how this strange boy had gotten in here and just as importantly; who he was. He inspected me as I did the same, not a word spoken. Maybe it was just the strange lighting but he looked grey and wispy, not quite there. I pushed my messy, curly hair behind my ear and asked;

"Who are you?" He returned my confused look. His hair was raven black, ruffled and messy. He was young, probably my age. His eyes didn't seem to have a colour and his skin looked pale, back then I'd used the lighting as an excuse again.

"I'm Percy." He replied. I threw back my covers and walked across my immaculate room to him. He rose from the chair, his eyes level with mine when he stood.

"Why are you in my room?" I asked angrily. He opened his mouth to say something when my door flew open and the light was flicked on. My mother stood in the doorway, beaming at me.

"Happy birthday Annabeth!" I groaned inwardly. "We've got pancakes downstairs, why don't you get ready for school." I looked from her to Percy who stood in the exact same place as before. Mum smiled and shut the door, not even acknowledging him. He looked down at his hands when he caught me staring. His body wasn't all there, his image was sort of faded-looking. I reached out tentatively for his hand, but instead of touching warm skin it passed straight through cold air. Percy's eyes widened.

"Are you...real?" I whispered. Are you a ghost? That's what I wanted to say, but ghosts weren't real, and crazy people who hallucinate, sadly, are. He looked up at me and I felt my cheeks grow hot at the intensity in his eyes.

"I think I am." He replied, his voice quiet and weak. I could see the conflicting emotions raging behind his eyes; confusion, curiosity, wonder, fear and anger. I looked at the owl clock on my wall quickly and he seemed to snap out of his trance.

"I'll leave, while you get dressed." He walked to the door, grabbing for the handle. He sighed and hung his head as it passed through. He turned and nodded to me sadly, before walking through the door and into the passage. I stood numbly in the middle of my room for a while, shocked and confused at what just happened. A strange boy shows up in my bedroom on my twelfth birthday, I think I have that right. I jolted into action and grabbed my worn out, faded jeans and a plain t-shirt. I pulled my hair back messily into a ponytail, chucking on a pair of grey converse and picking up my school bag. I was about to leave but remembered to pull back the curtains and hastily straightened my bed covers. I hated having a messy room, I could never focus. I flicked the light switch off and burst into the hall, expecting to see Percy waiting for me. He wasn't there though, and I started to wonder whether it was just my morning brain misinterpreting things. I walked down the passage to the dining room, throwing my bag down. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw Percy sitting at the table in front of my mother, who was humming to herself as she put the last of the pancakes on a plate. Dad was reading a newspaper at the head of the table, his reading glasses perched on the end of his nose. As I walked past he pecked my cheek.

"Mornin' sweet heart. Sleep well?" I slid into my chair and nodded, staring at Percy across the table. He smiled at me, the first time since this morning.

"Happy birthday, Annie." He said lightly and I felt my cheeks flush red. He must've been listening to my parents talk while I got dressed. And they obviously couldn't hear him, as the carried on as if there had been silence.

"Shut up!" I murmured as Mum set the plate on the table.

"Excuse me? Annabeth are you alright, you're bright red." Said my mother concernedly, feeling my forehead. Dad set down the paper and reached out for the pancakes when Mum slapped his hand.

"Birthday girl first!" Her grey eyes, I'd been told had been inherited by me, bore into him. Though I couldn't ever imagine delivering the piercing glares my mother could, or the softness she held especially for me. I smiled at her as she served my breakfast and I'd almost forgot about Percy, watching the whole scene.

Percy's POV

I watched them play happy families from my seat and felt my heart sink further. I just couldn't believe what was happening. I shut my eyes and images played before me:

I was in a car, I'm sure, with my mother. She was yelling at my awful stepdad when he swerved to avoid a truck and skidded across the road, slamming into a building. The front of the car was squashed and I could just see the back of my mother's head, a steady stream of blood flowing from an invisible wound. Gabe, my stepdad was unmoving and I avoided looking at his twisted form. My body hurt everywhere, and I couldn't move. I tried to call out, to my mum to ask her if she was alright, she had to be. But darkness started closing in and suffocated me, I shut my eyes.

Then I was in Annabeth's room. I suppose it should've been clear enough from the start what had happened, if all that had happened. But like a normal person, I wasn't finding it easy to come to terms with my de-

Annabeth stood up from the table, I hadn't realised how time had passed during my musings.

"I should go," she said. Her mum stood up too.

"I could give you a ride you know, you wouldn't have to leave so soon." She offered. Annabeth kissed her on the cheek on the way to the door, swinging her school bag over her shoulder.

"Don't be silly it's not far enough for a ride. See you after school!" With that she shut the door abruptly. Annabeth's mum sighed and shook her head.

"She just wants to do things on her own sometimes, she's growing up you know." Reasoned her dad. He had blonde hair like Annabeth's, reading glasses perched on the end of his nose and a fairly athletic build. But Annabeth had her mum's eyes, no doubt about it. They were stormy grey, and seemed to be calculating and observing everything around her. I decided not to stay around the house eavesdropping on her parents and ran _through _the door after Annabeth.

"Hey! Wait up!" I called and she spun around.

"Really? Don't you have anything better to do?" She huffed when I caught up.

"No, I really don't."

**Thanks for reading my first chapter! Reviews are much appreciated, of course. I won't be updating for a while coz I'm trying to finish another long term story.**

**~MistFloo~**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello! Thank you so much to people who reviewed, I posted the first chapter, left home for about 2 hours and when I came back I had 38 emails from fanfic coz a couple of you went through and read all my stories: thank you soooo much! I made a commitment to my other story though so I will only post chapters after a chapter on my other one, this is my incentive ;)**

Chapter 2

Percy's POV

"So...you're twelve then." I said awkwardly as we rounded a corner.

"Yeah, you?" Annabeth replied.

"Same age I think. Do you-"

"Shh!" She hissed all of a sudden. I jumped in front of her, walking backwards.

"Did you just shush me?"

"We're nearly at my school, do you want me to look like a lunatic?" Sure enough the footpath became thick with mobs of students. Annabeth took a deep breath and pushed herself into the crowd. I searched for a path as she began to disappear in the sea of people. Then I remembered, I'm a gh-

Details aren't important, what is important is that I could walk straight through everyone. I jogged to catch up to Annabeth, who flinched when I appeared beside her half way through some chubby kid.

"Do you have any idea how ridiculous you look right now? She said under her breath. I was about to reply when a girl pushed past her.

"Talking to yourself now, are we Chase." The girl was our age, with long dark hair and about a pound if make up. A _twelve_ year old. She was backed by a couple of her friends, who sneered at her as they too shoved past Annabeth, noses in the air. Annabeth pulled her bag onto her shoulder and continued walking through the gates, I followed.

"You're just going to let them talk to you like that?" I exclaimed, gesturing in their direction. She shot me a pained look and kept walking briskly inside the old looking brick building. I stood outside as people bustled around me, watching after her. For someone who appeared so in control and confident on her own, I didn't expect people to walk all over her like that.

Annabeth's POV

I slammed my locker shut and jumped when I saw Percy standing behind it.

"Can you stop doing that!" I said, attracting some interesting looks from passers by. Percy held up his hands.

"Sorry, it's not my fault. So anyway, where's our first class?" I arched an eyebrow at him.

"What?" He looked offended.

"I don't want to be bored out of my mind all day do I? You're the only one I can talk to!" And I would actually have someone to talk to at break for once.

"English, come on."

It would be an understatement to say English was boring. I preferred maths simply because there was a bit of challenge involved. The teacher was an old man with an enthusiasm for knitted cardigans, he was overweight with grey hair and an over-groomed moustache.

"Right class," he warbled as we sunk into our seats. As soon as he spoke Percy groaned loudly.

"He's said two words and I can tell this class is a snooze fest." I looked at him sideways, a look that was meant to say:

"A snooze fest?" The teacher was droning on about poetic devices, which we have literally learnt every year in English since year 4.

"Oh that's right, you can't talk," said Percy, walking up the aisle between the desks as he spoke. He jumped and stood on the teacher's desk.

"This is probably the most fun I've ever had in a classroom," he mused. Then he announced;

"STUDENTS, OBEY ME AND LOOK BORED!" No response from the rest of the class. I'm really not surprised about Percy's statement about fun in the classroom, he doesn't seem like the type of person to thrive in school.

"IT WORKED!" He declared, falling to his knees dramatically. It was incredibly hard to ignore. Percy got down and walked back along my aisle though, glancing at various students' desks. He laughed and pointed at Drew's notepad which she was drawing lazily on.

"I heart Jason. It says that-like all over the page." I was stifling laughter.

"Wow he's pretty good at art, jeez that person's a nerd..." He went through the whole class, analysing each person.

"Annabeth Chase!" The teacher shouted and my eyes zapped to the front of the class.

"What are you grinning about girl, did you even hear my question?" Drew was smirking evilly. I put on a mask of innocence.

"Sorry sir, it's just I saw someone pass Drew a note, and I was smiling because I _knew_ you'd catch them." Drew's nostrils flared as she tried to cover up her notebook. The teacher saw this and tutted as he walked down the aisle, sweeping her notebook up and clearing his throat.

"I heart Jason. I love Jason. Drew Grace, et cetera, et cetera." Drew turned a dark shade of crimson as the class burst out laughing. Percy gave me a thumbs up and I rolled my eyes at him. The bell sounded and Drew stormed over to me.

"Enjoy your petty little victory now but I'll get you back." I nodded seriously as she tossed her hair dramatically and huffed off to her friends. Serious drama queen.

"Nice one," said Percy, sliding next to me and holding up a hand. He lowered it awkwardly and followed me to the next class.

For the rest of the day Percy shouted out anything he could that would offend people, the dumbest answers, sarcastic remarks and plain insults. But I had to admit, it was probably the most fun I'd ever had in a classroom too.

"You are completely insane!" I shouted as soon as we rounded the corner out of sight if any school kids. Percy shrugged.

"I try," we walked past an old woman in a leopard print coat, with a lead attached to the studded collar of what I presumed was a dog. It went crazy barking as it approached us, baring its teeth at Percy and growling.

"Help, I think a bloodthirsty chihuahua is trying to kill me!" Exclaimed Percy, jumping back. The old woman paid no notice and continued walking down the street as if nothing had happened.

"Weird." I summed up.

"Yeah, lets get back to your house quickly before any more demon dogs decide they want ghost boy for lunch." I winced at the sound of _ghost_. We walked in silence for a little while.

"Too soon?"

"Yeah too soon."

**Thanks for reading, please review!**

**~MistFloo~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ooh long chapter! You should be happy this is a rare occurrence for me! By the way thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, it really makes my day to see someone's taken the time to tell me what they thought.**

Chapter 3

Annabeth's POV

Percy walked through the door and I opened it after him.

"Mum I'm home!" I called, heading straight for the kitchen. I bent down and crouched in front of the cupboard in case mum came in. I rummaged through the tins and packets of assorted food to be prepared until I found my stash.

"Ah, so Annabeth Chase is normal." Said Percy, peering over my shoulder as I snapped a row of chocolate of the block.

"Shut up."

"Annabeth what have I told you about saying that," scolded mum as she bustled into the kitchen. I hid the chocolate behind me, if my parents knew about my guilty pleasure there wouldn't be any left by the time I got home.

"So how was school?" Asked mum, tucking a curly lock of walnut brown hair behind her ear. I hadn't told her about the awful kids at school, I knew she'd just stress out and try to fix it.

"It was good actually, I should go do my homework though." I said, turning around.

"All right, but don't forget we're going out tonight." Oh yeah, it was still my birthday. Weird how I'd forgotten, most kids look forward to their birthday all year.

"Uh yeah, okay." I dashed up the stairs.

"Why do you run away from your mum like that?" Came Percy's voice from behind me.

"What do you mean?" I said in a dismissive tone, I didn't like what he was implying.

"She's being really nice to you and you keep, sort of, cutting her off." I turned to face him in the passage. He was frowning at me.

"Look, I didn't ask for you to... to analyse me. I didn't ask for your opinion..." I started hotly. He arched an eyebrow. I sighed and looked at my feet.

"She babies me. She doesn't realise I can do things in my own. She thinks she's always right and always has the best plan." I explained. School projects were a nightmare, I'd taken to not telling her so she couldn't interfere.

"I know she means well but she doesn't see me as smart enough to cope on my own." I met Percy's gaze again.

"Don't you feel that way?" He laughed.

"God no. I was just happy to talk to my mother, let alone..." His eyes grew sad and I thought maybe it wasn't the time to talk.

"Come on, I actually do have some homework to complete." I said, trying to distract him. Percy smiled wryly.

"Yay, homework!"

Percy's POV

I chatted half-heartedly with Annabeth while she completely algebra homework. Thinking about my mum had brought back wonderful memories; of us going to Montauk and staying in the cabin by the sea, eating blue lollies from the candy store she worked at, any time when Gabe left the house, which wasn't often. But it also renewed the ache in my heart from seeing her lifeless body in the dented car in front of me. Knowing she'd never push my hair back off my forehead in the middle of a sentence, she'd never tell me the story of how her and my real Dad met or that I'd never hear her laugh, a sound I always associated with home. Some people called me a mama's boy, I never cared. It was just meaningless insults to try and get to me, and when you were in the same situation as us, every moment was precious. She was the best mother I could've hoped for, and now she was gone. I wonder if she was..still around, like me. If I could see her somewhere maybe...

"Percy!" Annabeth snapped me out of my trance. She'd packed up her books already and was putting her shoes back on.

"We're going out for dinner, like right now." She said and sure enough, her dad stuck his head inside the door.

"Five minutes Annie." He said warmly. "Are you just going to wear jeans?" Annabeth folded her arms.

"Yes." Her tone was a challenge, daring him to oppose. It was pretty obvious Annabeth wasn't the type of girl who enjoyed skirts.

"Okay, I just thought.." Annabeth arched her eyebrow and he laughed. "I'll see you downstairs."

"Thanks Dad." She said as he shut the door. Annabeth jumped to her feet, combing her hair back with her fingers.

"Come on."

"You want me to come?" I said. I thought it might be a bit awkward, wouldn't she just want to celebrate her birthday with her family?

"You're my friend silly. Unless, you don't want to." She didn't look at me but I was grinning.

"I'd love to, Annie."

"Watch it ghost boy, I will find a way to kick your butt." She skipped out the door and we raced down the stairs. She beat me, but not by much.

"Well, that's one way." She said, smirking.

"Um Annabeth, who are you talking to?" Asked her mum who was shoving stuff into a hand bag. Annabeth looked a bit panicked for a moment, but recovered quickly.

"No one, I was just reciting something I'm supposed to memorise for English." Her mum didn't question her, just hurried off to get something else.

"Nice save!" I said and she smiled briefly.

"Always have a plan, if there's one thing my mum has taught me," she said dryly, like she was taught far too much for her liking, "it's that you always have a plan."

I stared at the family photos in the corridor while Annabeth changed. There was photos of her parents on their wedding day, of them when they were younger, and plenty of Annabeth. In most she was a small girl with wild blonde hair, full rosy cheeks and wide grey eyes. She smiled in every photo. Annabeth appeared beside me, toothbrush in mouth.

"You were cute when you were younger." She blushed slightly, I wondered why. Then I realised that comment may be too personal or something, and considered taking it back with a 'what happened!' Or something. But it was true, and it's not like she'd grown up terribly different. She was still kind of...cute now.

"Snap I haven't got you anywhere to sleep!" Said Annabeth, and I was glad she interrupted my thoughts.

"It's okay, I can sleep on the couch." I offered. Now that I thought about it, I was shattered. I'd done quite a lot of experimenting today, and found out I can in fact touch real objects if I didn't think about it. With the doors, I figured it we easier to walk through them anyway, but anything else like getting on the teacher's desk for example, I just had to act not think.

"Don't be stupid you can use the spare room," she said, going back into her room before returning without the toothbrush.

"Can't believe I forgot about it," she muttered. Annabeth led me done the hallway to another room. She practically had to tackle the door to get it open.

"Hasn't been used in a while then," I commented. There were boxes of stuff labelled with things like ' crockery', 'books', 'model books' and 'more books'. Each box had a thin layer of dust coating it. The curtains were thin and faded from the sun, but the bed was a bed, and I was tired.

"Yeah," said Annabeth. "Will it be alright?"

"It's perfect." I told her. "Thank you, for uh showing me around today." I said awkwardly. Thank you for helping me through this mess. Annabeth smiled.

"Thank you, something actually interesting happened for once. See you in the morning."

"Good night!" She shut the door and I collapsed on the bed. Today had been totally messed up, but I was glad I spent it with Annabeth. I had to wonder though, when I woke up would I still be here, or somewhere else? Would I really see Annabeth in the morning? Because I can't kid myself any longer, I am most definitely dead.

**Thanks for reading; a LOT more to come. Please review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello! Thank you so much to the 19 followers, 11 favourites and 23 reviews, you guys are amazing! **

Chapter 4

Percy's POV

I dreamed I was back in my old apartment. I was ten in the dream, I'd just got back from school. Mum wasn't home yet, but Smelly Gabe (my step dad) was. He lounged on a deck chair holding a can of beer. It was evident from the crumpled cans lying on the floor around him and the cloudy look in his eyes he'd already been drinking a while.

"Get me another beer," he ordered, no hello or how was your day. I kept walking to my room.

"I said get me a beer!" Gabe shouted.

"You've had enough!" I screamed back at him. Why did my mum marry this guy? He was repulsive with his oily bald head, stained tank top and grungy sweatpants. He reeked of beer and cigarettes, overweight but without the brain cells to spare drinking alcohol. I walked into my room and dumped my school bag on my bed. Too late I heard the lumbering footsteps in the passage outside, too late I realised I should've kept my mouth shut and done as he'd asked. Gabe burst into the room, belt in hand. He stumbled through the doorway and sneered at me.

"Did I ask for your opinion boy?" My ten year old self cowered against the bed as Gabe brought the belt behind him, then swung it hard so the buckle raked across my chest.

**(please read the AN at the bottom, thanks)**

I shot upright in bed, drenched in sweat and gasping from the nightmare. I lifted my t-shirt and traced the scar on my chest, remembering the blinding pain as it marred my skin. If you looked, the scars were all over my body from years of 'disobedience'. I shuddered and banished the memories to the darkest corner of my mind, hopefully where they wouldn't bother me. It was relatively light in the room, revealing card board boxes on the far wall and peeling paint on the ceiling.

That's right, I'm at Annabeth's house. I remembered. Oh yeah and I'm freaking dead too. A less pleasant realisation. As if on cue, the door creaked open and Annabeth stood half in the doorway.

"Come on, you slept in." She said under her breath, gesturing for me to hurry up.

"Are you alright?" She asked once I'd climbed out of bed.

"Yeah...I'm fine."

Annabeth's POV

The day at school was much the same as yesterday. Percy was quieter though, more thoughtful. At lunch Drew and her acolytes 'accidentally' bumped into me in the cafeteria, causing me to drop my tray all over the floor. But school was like a war zone, you had to help yourself because no one else would help you. You couldn't show any weakness, or you'd be gunned down straight away. Any way I got back at them in PE by being one of the assistant instructors and making sure they did each exercises properly... We were right in the middle of our fitness module which meant plenty of gruelling work outs each session. The bell for the end of school sounded but I didn't get changed out of my PE gear.

"Where are we going?" Asked Percy when instead of walking down the street back home I made my way to the school field.

"Running club. You don't have to come if you don't want to..." I secretly really wanted Percy to come. It's hard being friendless, a loner. I'd been going to running club all year, simply because it took my mind off other things in life.

"Sure I'll come." Shrugged Percy. "I prefer swimming but I'm not sure if that would even work..." I'll remember that, he likes swimming...

"Hey Annabeth, you're just in time!" Called Luke, our coach. A group of older kids were already stretching down on the field, ready to set out. Luke as an ex-student who needed experience for uni and volunteered to help out with the club. He was tall and seriously athletic, with cropped sandy hair and a bright smile.

"Ready to go everyone?" He called once I'd dumped my bag on the bleachers and joined the mob of students. Percy joined me. The course started by skirting the field, through a gap in the fence that led to a path. The path made its way around the back of the school until you ended up on the foot path. From there you had to run along the street so the public got a nice view of us dying, before running through the main gate to the school and back to the field. After Luke had finished going over the course with us Percy stared emptily at him.

"I think I'll just follow you," he said quickly.

"If you can keep up," I'd said. I was one of the youngest here, but I was always in the lead.

"All right, go!" He started the stop watch and we started running. Straight away I ran to the front of the mob, focusing on the rhythm of my feet slapping the ground, my breathing. Percy appeared beside me, his image a blur as he moved.

"Do you-do this-every Friday?" He said as we rounded the corner of the field. There was a fair gap between me and the bunch so I figured I could speak.

"Yes," I said, closing my eyes as the wind pushed against my face. It felt like flying.

"And you enjoy this?" Percy asked, evidently not enjoying it. I was surprised he was keeping up as I located the gap in the fence partially hidden behind trees. I shrugged it off and we ran the rest of the way in silence.

Once we'd finished Percy collapsed on the bleachers. Luke recorded my time and high-fived me, then continued to watch out for the other runners.

"How can you enjoy this?" Percy puffed. I was pretty impressed he'd managed to keep up since he seemed to loathe running. The whole way he was grumbling under his breath about all the stuff he would rather be doing; like swimming with sharks, reading or standing on a piece of Lego. I thought the last one was a bit extreme.

"Come on you need to walk it off, otherwise you'll be stiff for days." I found that out the hard way. He hauled himself off the seat and joined me in walking the perimeter of the field. Percy rubbed his arm and winced.

"Are you okay?" I asked. Could you be in pain when you're dead? His hand dropped away quickly.

"It's nothing, I'm fine." He replied too quickly. I hadn't noticed before how he seemed to have changed int sneakers and shorts. Weird...

I decided to let it go, he'd tell me in time if it was that important.

"Come on we can go home now," I said, realising we'd made our way back to the bleachers.

"Thanks Luke!" I called back as we trudged up the hill to the main gate.

"All right see you next week Annabeth!" Runners were still jogging in when we left. Percy flinched when a car came around the corner, and I remembered he'd never told me what landed him as a, you know, ghost. The way his eyes followed the car made me think he wasn't quite ready to talk about it.

**Hi, since not many people are seeing this I was wondering if it would be terribly too much to ask if we could do some advertising? You could PM me the link to a story you want me to recommend, and in your AN in a story you could recommend mine! **

**Here's the link ** s/9224463/1/Whispers-in-the-Dark, **feel free to ask me because I know how hard it is to get people to read your story.**

**Thank you,**

**~MistFloo~**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello fellow readers! I'm surprised no one took up my advertising offer, if you're still interested PM the link to your story ;). And thank you to those who favourited or followed me and this story, it really makes my day to see all these emails from fanfic!**

Chapter 5

Annabeth's POV

Mum was reading when we got home.

"I'm home." I called. She briefly looked up.

"Where's Dad?" He was normally home from the university by now. Dad taught history, he actually met my mum when he was getting his own degree.

"Caught up at work," Mum replied tiredly. "Annabeth, come here for a second." Percy chuckled at my annoyed expression. No doubt I was about to be on the receiving end of another lecture.

"Yes Mum?" She put the book down on the sofa beside her.

"Annabeth why do I never hear about your friends at school?" Oh great, another socialising lecture.

"Mum, I prefer being alone. The kids at school are-"

"It's not healthy to be on your own." She interrupted. I bit my tongue, I'd learnt there was no use in arguing when she was on a roll.

"Don't you have anyone to talk to?" She asked. I realised it was a question I was supposed to answer. One of the many things I hated about talking to adults is that you could never tell if a question was rhetorical or not. I racked my brain for something to tell her, but the truth was that people didn't want to talk to me. They make fun of me or simply ignored me. There are plenty of kids in similar circumstances at school, but the teachers never notice and no one brings it up because your have to learn to fight your own battles.

"I can talk to you." I told mum, and looked sideways at Percy. He smiled widely.

"You can talk to me too," Percy said softly. Mum sighed and sat back.

"Dinner's almost ready, I'll call you down." I made my way to the stairs knowing she wasn't going to give up. Why was interaction so important to her?

"Oh and I've got a doctor's appointment tomorrow at one. So make sure you're ready to leave." Yes! The GP building was right by the beach, whenever she went I was allowed to go for a walk, on my own. Not only did this mean I got to walk over the rocks, watch the waves crash on the beach and enjoy the sea breeze; it was almost like I was an independent person or something.

The next day

Percy's POV

"Don't go too far, and keep an eye on the time it won't take long!" Called Annabeth's mum and she rolled her eyes once she turned her back.

"We'll be fine, go!" It was a Saturday afternoon, the weather was scorching hot, which basically translates to: the beach was packed. Annabeth seemed to relax as soon as her mother , though she did so reluctantly, left.

"I love the beach." I breathed in the salty smell.

"My mum and I used to go to Montauk," I said, my eyes still closed. "And stay at a cabin by the sea. We went there every year." It was the place she met my father, not Gabe, my real father. But he went on a sea voyage before I was born, and was lost at sea. My mum always said that, never dead, just lost. When I opened my eyes Annabeth was staring out at the ocean.

"Do you really have no friends?" I asked and she shot me a murderous look. "Hey you know what I mean!" We started walking along the sand in the direction of the rocks.

"They think I'm a know-it-all just because I'm smarter than them." Confessed Annabeth.

"Oh gee can't imagine that," if she could Annabeth probably would've pushed me into a rock pool.

"Yeah I know that sounds bad, but it's true. I worry about the future if this is the next generation of adults." Said Annabeth seriously. I was about to say something when I heard a child shriek and Annabeth stood back. She doubled over laughing as I stood in utter confusion at what happened. Two kids ran past, launching sea weed projectiles at each other like their lives depended on it. I watched as their mum pulled them by the arms back to a beach umbrella some way done the beach.

"Haha, I remember doing that when I was little." I told Annabeth, turning around to see her sitting on a rock, wiping tears out of her eyes.

"Okay, why are you laughing!" Annabeth took a deep breath and looked at me.

"Sorry, I'm alright. It's just, that kid threw the seaweed...right through your head." She burst out laughing again while I watched, making sure I kept a straight face.

"So?" Between fits of laughter Annabeth got out.

"For a second-your head-was just-seaweed!"

"We were in the middle of a serious conversation!" I reminded her. Seriously, this girl mustn't have had much fun if she thought it was that funny. But then, I didn't see it so I could be wrong. Annabeth got to her feet.

"All right Seaweed Brain, don't have a fit. Come on, we should start heading back." Annabeth started walking ahead of me.

"What did you just call me?"

That night

I couldn't sleep. Which was weird because Annabeth had insisted on us going for a run after our short walk on the beach. Annabeth's dad had taken her mum out, much to Annabeth's pleasure, and left her at home 'alone'. She has this weird obsession with being independent, I was always happy to accept people's help, but I knew some things had to do things in my own. There should be a balance of both, Annabeth didn't seem to see she was really isolating herself.

Now I lay in bed, imagining being back at the cabin, having a campfire on the beach, wading through the icy water, even cleaning out the cupboards at Montauk with Mum.

"Percy." A voice whispered.

"Are you awake?" Annabeth.

"Yeah," I replied. She crept into the pitch black room and sat in the bed.

"Nice blanket," she pulled it around her like a cloak.

"Thank you."

"Can't sleep either?"

"Nope..." I was always bad at starting conversations.

"You know I went to this psychic once." Random, but it'll work.

"Really? I wouldn't have thought you'd believe in that stuff." I couldn't imagine how Annabeth Chase would ever be interested in a psychic.

"It was funny. You know what she told me? She said I can see you're very wise, yes. You will have a hard future, but in the end you will become what you desire. The greatest architect of your age!" She imitated an old woman's voice.

"That's not so bad..."

"Percy, at the beginning I told her I wanted to be an architect." She said in a flat voice. An architect, that I can imagine.

"Montauk sounds really nice." Said Annabeth, changing the subject. I smiled. "What was your life like, before Thursday?" Annabeth asked cautiously. I remembered my old life like I was still living it.

"My mum, my stepdad and I lived in New York. I went to this boarding school called Yancy Academy for kids with problems. I only went there because it was one of the few schools I hadn't been kicked out of." God I hated that school.

"Why'd you get kicked out?" Asked Annabeth. Unless I was imaging it there was a hint of disapproval in her voice.

"All right Wise Girl, calm done I didn't set the school on fire or anything... Okay I did once but it so wasn't my fault. I think they had it out for me you know, there was always some sort of problem, and it was always my fault." Annabeth chuckled.

"Defensive much,"

"Do you want me to finish or not?" Annabeth surrendered.

"All right Seaweed Brain, I'm listening."

"Uh, well my mum worked in a sweet shop but she wanted to be a writer. She was saving up. But then she married my step dad..." I shuddered at the memory.

"Do you think they're still alive? We could visit her-"

"No." I cut her off.

"You don't have to talk about it." Annabeth whispered. She reached out but her hand fell right through mine. I wondered if I concentrated really hard if I were able to hold it?

"Night Percy." She gathered up her blanket and waddled to the door.

"See you in the morning Annabeth" she hesitated at the door and I thought she was about to say something, but shuffled down the passage to her room. Although I couldn't see my mum again, she was right we could visit the apartment. Maybe even Montauk...

I drifted off to sleep quickly, playing over in my mind Annabeth laughing by the sea. She should definitely do it more often.

**I incorporated the nicknames! Thanks for reading, review please.**

**~MistFloo~**


	6. Chapter 6

s/9038371/1/Bodyguards-of-the-Olympians

**Hello! See the link above^ this is a story by fireball of darkness (love the name by the way) called Bodyguards of the Olympians. The story is about demigods acting as bodyguards for the Olympians while the seven are off to save the world. Atlas is being released, and the Olympians need help. So far there are 3 chapters so its perfect to start reading, give it a look!**

Chapter 6

Percy's POV

I jumped down the stairs, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. I heard a voice coming from down the hallway and followed it, eager for conscious company.

"Yes, hi this is Athena Chase calling up about a referral appointment today..." Annabeth's mum spoke clearly into the phone. Yeah, I know I shouldn't be eaves dropping but Annabeth wasn't awake yet and it's Sunday morning. I frowned at her mum as she paced the kitchen. Why would she need another appointment? Every now and then she would peer around the corner to make sure no one was coming, which they weren't. I dismissed it, adults were weird. Always seeing patterns in things that weren't there, picking at things that didn't matter. I tuned out and started wandering around the house. On the mantle piece there were framed pictures; Annabeth's parents of when they got diplomas, them at the beach, them in an unfamiliar city. The pictures progressed to more baby pictures of Annabeth, but this time it was the whole family together, all three of them. I felt a bit hollow looking at them, knowing my parents had never held me together like that, heck they hadn't seen each other since before I was born. And now both of them were gone...

They obviously liked to record things in the Chase house, remember things. Because there were loads of photos all over the place. It's like they kept taking recent pictures in case one of them went missing and they needed a photo for the police. I jumped as a scream pierced the air from up stairs, coming from who could only Annabeth. Athena and I raced up the stairs, her still holding the phone below her ear. I ran through the door to Annabeth's room to see her sitting up in bed, the covers gathered around her as she looked in panic at her surroundings. She was pale, and breathing heavily.

"Hi, yes I'm here." Said Athena quickly into the phone as Annabeth seemed to acknowledge our presence.

"Okay, that's good, see you then." She hung up, putting the phone of Annabeth's desk as she made her way over to Annabeth's bed. I stood frozen in the doorway, she didn't pay me any notice. Athena sat down and rubbed Annabeth's back gently.

"It was just a nightmare sweetie," she assured her softly. Obviously this sort of thing had happened before. If Annabeth hadn't appeared absolutely terrified, deadly serious and almost tearful as she let her mum comfort her, I might've laughed a bit. Her hair was a rat's nest on top of her head, her covers were half on the floor and eyes had a bit of a crazy tint to them.

"But it seemed to real, they were crawling all over me and-" she shuddered as she recounted her dream. Athena Chase kissed her daughter on the head and continued rubbing circles on her back. I suddenly felt incredibly awkward, watching this intimacy between Annabeth and her mum. I retreated into the corridor and sat on the stairs, wondering what to do next.

Annabeth's POV

Mum left me to get changed. I hated that nightmare, it was so realistic. I rubbed my eyes and told myself there weren't any spiders near me. It wasn't an irrational fear, when I was younger I found out the hard way I was allergic to practically every spider bite. Obviously I reacted differently to different spiders, but if I wasn't treated quickly, my condition got worse than most people. I wasn't ashamed to see Percy after my nightmare, I wasn't embarrassed. Everyone's afraid of something, and although its only been a few days since we met, I think we know each other well enough to respect each other's fears. Percy was sitting on the stairs when I came out, his expression seemed sort of, wistful. I dropped down next to him.

"You all right?" I asked and he laughed without humour.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that? What was all that about anyway?" He didn't laugh at me, he wasn't pointing at me or making fun. It was a nice change.

"When I was seven, I was on a school trip on a bush walk." I started. "I'm not sure what type it was, but we crossed path with this huge spider." I shuddered at the memory. I could almost see its hairy thorax, the size of a fist. It's long legs as it scuttled across the ground. All the other kids had manger to careful avoid it, but it's like the spider singled me out.

"Long story short, I was bitten. It's lucky I was close to the teacher because the next thing I knew I was waking up in hospital." Percy stared ahead.

"That must've bee-"

"Good morning!" My dad said cheerily, emerging from his room. He was wearing his weekend standard uniform- t-shirt and jeans. At work, he had to follow the dress code, so this was considered slobby by him. He still held his belt in his hand, and as he walked closer to the stairs Percy froze.

"Dad can't you do that in the privacy of your bedroom!" I protested. I personally didn't see what the big deal was, but Percy looked like he was hyperventilating. Dad frowned and thread the belt through his jeans.

"Well I didn't expect anyone to be up here." Dad reasoned. "Have you had breakfast yet?" Percy had calmed down a little. I still found it weird how they couldn't see him when he was right there.

"Maybe..." I replied. Dad walked through Percy and down the stairs.

"Come on then." He hoisted me up and went to get breakfast. I glanced back at Percy, making a silent promise I would find out what scared him so much.

Weeks passed much the same. Despite how well I got to know Percy, every time I brought something like his panic attack up he would change the subject, or walk through a wall. My mum kept going out during the day on 'errands', but when she came home she would head straight for the kitchen for a drink. But what's nice about having Percy around, is I'm a generally boring person, I'll admit. Whereas Percy was this joker; bold and funny and careless. I suppose he didn't really have much to care about anymore. He distracted me, but it was a nice sort of distraction. He was almost like my brother, just one I was around nearly 24/7.

But the longer this went on, the more I feared he would simply disappear one day. It's not like ghosts stay around all the time...do they?

A month later (time flies...)

Percy and I were laughing uncontrollably as we watched A Very Potter Musical in my room when the door opened slowly. I pressed pause quickly before Harry could serenade Cho Chang. Mum stood in the doorway.

"Can I come in?" She looked nervous. Percy 'oohed' I shot him my 'shut up' look. Mum sat down on my bed so I swivelled around on my desk chair.

"Why do you have two chairs in here Annabeth?" Mum gestured at Percy's seat. I shrugged.

"Anyway, Annabeth there's something I need to tell you," that's when I noticed the bags under her eyes, her pale skin and thin frame. Something's wrong.

"You know how I went to the doctor a while ago for my headache." I nodded slowly. Where is this going.

"Well, I had a couple of scans-"

"No," my hand moved instantly to my wrist. It was something I usually did when someone was being annoying, pinching myself so the pain could distract me from the annoyance. But I needed the sharp pain to keep me focused now.

"Honey, they found a tumour..." She was speaking, I could see her mouth moving but I couldn't hear her. I glanced at Percy who looked as shocked as me. But he'd already lost his mother. I dug my nails harder into my wrist, hoping it would blot out the pain growing in my chest.

"Does Dad know?" I managed to say. Mum nodded, but she wouldn't meet my eyes.

"You have to do something! Can they stop it, can they fix it!" My voice sounded shrill and desperate even to my own ears.

"I'm having an operation at the end of next week. I'm on medication but..." She looked down again. I was shaking, is this happening?

"It'll be fine, the operation might even be enough." Her words sounded empty even to me. But she knew I needed that hope. She got up and left me when I didn't speak.

"Annabeth," Percy said shakily.

"I hadn't even noticed, I hadn't paid any attention..."

"Annabeth stop."

"All that time and I hadn't even..." I felt sick. Mum had pretended everything was okay when she must've been in agony. Percy didn't say anything.

This can't be happening.

**Dun dun dun. Sorry if that was sort of abrupt, I tried my best to make it realistic though. Time is going to pass a bit quicker, but I won't miss out important details in the years.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sorry I haven't updated for ages, school just started up again. :(**

Chapter 7

Annabeth's POV

Mum lay in her hospital bed as the nurses fussed around her. Tears stung my eyes, this would not be the last time I saw her. Dad was holding her hand tightly, but mum addressed me.

"Stop worrying Annabeth, you always worry too much." She was only about to go into surgery on a brain tumour with probably the worst odds and its unreasonable that I'm worried? I didn't say that out loud though. I could tell she was scared, she was being brave for us. Percy was here too. He stood staunchly by my side, looking sadly at my frail mother. I couldn't help but wonder of he'd see her, if it went badly I meant. The nurses told us the theatre was ready and mum nodded stiffly, setting her jaw.

"I love you Annabeth, and I'll see you in a while, okay?" Her voice shook. She kissed Dad before they wheeled her away. Dad and I had waited in the hospital corridor, watching people as they worked and leaving every now and then to get something to eat. Neither of us were hungry. Dad stood up as the doctor came walking towards us.

I woke slowly. I'd been replaying those last moments for the last year, wondering what else I could've said. The funeral was hell, all our friends and family acting sympathetic and telling me they understood. No one understood, not except for Percy. I never saw my mother again, the most important person in my life disappeared, how could they even begin to know what I'm going through? But as I was so often reminded, that was the past. We can't wallow forever in it. Dad had moved on in a different way, he know spent longer and longer at work. He got obsessed with war history and weapons. I knew mum wouldn't have wanted us to mope around.

And it's hard to think that all happened more than a year ago. Percy drifted into my room.

"You have counselling at school today!" He said with mock enthusiasm. Apparently I still needed emotional support, ugh. Percy and I were about the same height now, but I was convinced I was almost taller than him. Percy still had messy black hair and the wispy grey image, but he had visibly aged a little over the year. Christmas had been hard for both of us, but we'd helped each other.

"Get out of my room!" I groaned and rolled over, pulling the covers up over my head. Percy was quiet for a little while and I thought he'd left.

"Okay well maybe I'll just...just..."

"Just what Seaweed Brain?"

"I will wait here and talk to you until you come out." I poked my head out from under my duvet and gasped.

"You-you'll talk? What kind of torture is this!" Percy was doing what he always did when he was standing still; wringing his hands and shifting his feet. I'd learned it was a habit from his ADHD, but it was kind of reassuring that there were always constant things around me.

"Fine, but as punishment for waking me up so early-"

"It's eight o'clock!"

"We're going for a run after school." Percy shrugged it off but I knew he'd rather be lying around the house doing nothing. I suppose so would I.

"Right well get out!" Percy gave me a suspicious look but obeyed. I had to admit I was tempted to crawl back into bed, but thought better of it.

**P**

"Wait but doesn't 'x' equal 4?" Another person called out across maths class. I groaned and slumped on my desk. The teacher had said the answer, why do they question it?

"No, the answer is 12 Miss Jefferson, now can I please move on before the bell goes?" Mrs Wilkins sighed. She was a stout woman with a few whiskers and greying black hair. She always looked somewhere between tired, crazy and bored in classes; and I really couldn't blame her. A few boys in my year we having a contest on who could flick their pencils the furthest, most of the girls had been scolded for gossiping a few seconds ago and most other people were reading and waiting for the rest of the answers like me. Despite most peoples' opinions, I quite enjoyed math itself. It was relaxing and straightforward despite other people's opinions, and I knew architects had to have mastered math in order to make reliable calculations. Percy looked glad when the bell sounded.

"I hate algebra," he moaned. "No, I just hate math." I rolled my eyes at him. I'd been trying to get him to join in classes, you know so he might actually learn something. But he seemed to hate most of the fun subjects.

On the way out of class a huge group of chattering girls in my year were thrusting fliers at anyone coming out the door.

"Drew." Percy grimaced as we walked out the door. Drew was saying to someone in front of me.

"The end of year graduation disco for our year; there's food, drinks, a DJ et cetera." I groaned and she turned her sharp gaze on me. She held out a flier.

"Don't suppose you'll need it, only the _cool_ people are coming." I gritted my teeth and swiped the flier. I was so not going, my head starts aching every time I remember the last party I was dragged to. I started walking away when one of her posse called after us;

"Have fun in counselling, try not to have a break down." The cackled and I walked faster down the hallway.

Percy's POV

"You know they're only teasing you because they're jealous of you." I tried to assure Annabeth. She scoffed.

"Jealous? Of what?" She started walking faster against the sea of students heading to lunch.

"You're smart, athletic, confident, kind, pretty, teachers love you-" I started but Annabeth stopped and stared at me.

"What did you say?" I had just begun to say all the things I admired about her what was she-

Oh.

"I said you were smart and athletic and confident and nice and teachers like you and-" Annabeth let it go and kept walking, not accepting my statement. Hopefully my face wasn't as red as it felt. I couldn't make a tiny comment like that without her making it awkward, why do girls have to complicate everything? Because those girls tried hard to be pretty everyday with their weird clothes and copious amounts of make up, and they were still nothing compared to Annabeth. Why couldn't I tell her that without it being weird? Annabeth stopped outside the councillors office.

"Do you want me to wait..." I asked. I pretty sure these sort of things were usually one on one, but Annabeth asked me to come in every time. She rolled her eyes at me and opened the door.

"Oh no, you have to suffer with me."

**Another line break coming through, watch it! Man this traffic is hell... And we're there!**

"And how do you feel?" The old woman asked for probably the fifteenth time. _So your mum died, how do you feel? Do people try to talk to you about it, how does this make you feel? Did you notice the sky is blue, how does this feel?_

"Um, okay I guess." Said Annabeth. Every single time she complained that she never knew what to say. She looked at me sideways and shrugged slightly.

"You said you enjoyed running a lot." The councellor's bracelets jangled on her wrists as she pushed her glasses onto her nose once she finished scribbling something vigorously on her notebook.

"Yes..." Annabeth confirmed. I started laughing and said.

"And how does this make you _feel _Annabeth?" I mimicked the woman's voice at her. Annabeth suppressed a smile.

"Does running affect how you feel?" Annabeth smiled.

"Uh, yeah I suppose." The woman reclined and sighed.

"Annabeth for me to help you you have to tell me things, hm? Tell me, what about your friends." Annabeth stiffened, it was barely noticeable. Her fingers moved subtly to her wrist. I winced as she began to pinch her arm.

"They're great. They've been a huge help." Annabeth looked at me gratefully. "In fact, I don't think I need to come to these sessions anymore I feel_ so much better_." Annabeth stood up abruptly and picked up her bag. The counsellor looked surprised as Annabeth made her way to the door.

"Um, alright but I will be following up in this Annabeth." Annabeth smiled sweetly before slipping out the door. I chased after her.

"You okay? What was that all about?" Annabeth let go of her wrist.

"It's just, I can't tell _anyone _about you." She looked angry rather than annoyed. "They'll think I'm more insane than they already do."

"Why do you need to tell someone?" I asked. She looked at me like I was an idiot.

"It's not easy to be the only person to be able to see you, you know. It's been a year, a whole year and still I'm the only person who can." The bell rung and she started walking reluctantly.

"It's just hard okay, you obviously don't understand." She whispered under her breath. I bit back my words. Did she think it was fun, or easy to be like this? But I knew she was just tired and fed up.

"I'm sorry, lets just get to PE." I reasoned. Annabeth was still scowling, but agreed.

How much longer would this last?

**Bam! End of chapter. Ooh, I have such exciting plans for this! I'm apologising way in advance for a kind if cliche ending, but I'll try and write it well. Don't ask me what it is, and I'll make up for that with some plot twists! Stay tuned.**

**~MistFloo~**


	8. Chapter 8

**Shoutouts:**

**to ARegularPerson(guest), lil Miss Mysterious, JoeTheGirl(guest), alyaJackson, smilequigley96, RiptidewandHPPJ, Stephenlongboard, Guests, Infinity Lily, Percabeth2074 (guest), Elementlife101 (guest), helolo (guest), fireball of darkness, ElKookoi, DailyChaos, Codex (guest), .purple, blankslate37, bambino01, Mythomagic101, Blackcurse11, pjoperson, DragonCrusader, and Annabeth's sister for reviewing!**

**To Alexandra Jackson rocks Hades, Annabeth's Sister, CelestialBronzeParazonium, Cinderella7049, Cookie Frost Girl, DarkHairedHeroes, DiamondPheonix12, ElKookoi, FanficReader101pj, GeekyKiki, LordOfFigaro, RiptidewandHPPJ, SshannonS, Stephenlongboard, Stormfrost35, TCarmona13, ThapolloandPercabeth4ever, TheRedLioness, Tlls, Underworld's Rules, allie1207, alyaJackson, anikota94,**

** annabeth the wise girl, applebut999, averyeverett, bambino01, blankslate37, confusion-123, coolist27, coopermiranda571, gadster01, lightgirl346, mastermini, mgma2000, rnburchett, smilequigley96, pjoperson, PupXXX, Eveline97, and stepsharris-multifandoms for following my story. **

**And finally to Blackcurse11, CelestialBronzeParazonium, Crystalxchaos, DailyChaos, DarkxxxRuler, Dude I'm Chaos, GeekyKiki, Mythomagic101, PercyJacksonObsession, Stormfrost35, TCarmona13, TheObsidianEchinos, Tyson's Best Friend, allie1207, alyaJackson, applebut999, averyeverett, blankskate37, confusion-123, coolist27,**

** happiness has arrived, hopesolofan, mastermini, mgma2000, and smilequigley96 for favouriting this story!**

**I noticed a lot of people who favourited and followed the story haven't reviewed...please do..**

**Don't forget to look at fireball of darkness' story Bodygaurds of Olympus!**

Chapter 8

Percy's POV

You know that feeling you get some mornings when you wake up, and you can just tell its going to be a good day? Well I'd never experienced it before myself, but now it's safe to say I have. I peeked out the curtains to see the sky a brilliant, cloud-less blue. Birdsong chattered from the trees, and I just knew today would be great.

I jumped down the stairs late, knowing Annabeth would be ready to set off. She didn't look like she was feeling it quite as much as me. She scowled as I finally made it to the doorway.

"What are you waiting for, Annabeth you'll be late." Her Dad said tiredly. Annabeth fare welled him and fast-walked out the door.

"Hey! Calm down you have oceans of time." I called, jogging to keep up. Right then I was grateful of Annabeth's obsession with keeping fit. I was surprised when she took a deep breath and slowed her pace instead of snapping back. The weather reminded me of my old school, being a little kid again. A pair of chattering boys about eight or nine walked along the street in front of us, truly ignorant that growing up was a sham. I'm only thirteen, and I'd say it wasn't going so great. But I missed more than anything being a little kid with those easy and meaningless conversations, cuddling up to be read a story and finding the smallest if things incredible. In a way it made children better than adults; everything was magic to them. Only it was a long time since I'd felt the bliss of childish ignorance. Ever since my mum had married Gabe when I was seven, that's when I learned what made adults so grim. They'd had so many disappointments in their long lives, they'd found out the truth about the world and didn't have the heart to break it to the rest of us, and rightly so.

"Wouldn't it be cool to have a super power?" The thought popped into my mind before I could consider whether I should speak it. Annabeth grinned.

"I know right! What would yours be?" I had to think hard about that. It was good to be able to switch off the heavy duty part of my brain and focus something worthless.

"Breathing underwater, or maybe controlling water... Imagine how much faster at swimming you'd be!" I'd always loved swimming, the ocean, water in general.

"Well I would be able to turn invisible," said Annabeth. Looking at her talk animatedly about the advantages I could tell she felt the same way, sometimes she wanted a break. It's like she'd given it some thought, like she dreamed to escape the real world. She stopped abruptly when other students came into view. I registered the increased amount of fliers for the graduation disco, a party for the year that leaves and goes to high school next year. Somehow I couldn't picture Annabeth in a darkened school gym, dancing to music with her peers. Annabeth curled her lip at the posters; obviously I wasn't the only having difficulty. Despite my ability to glide though passing people, I preferred winding in and out of the crowd beside Annabeth like a real person. She stopped for a drink at the fountain and I stared at it with concentration: nothing. Annabeth saw me and shook her head as of to say: tsk, children. I figured it was worth a shot.

"Science, Latin, maths, English, social studies and PE." She mumbled as she studied her timetable, probably more for my benefit than her own.

"Yes, Latin." I fist pumped. It was probably the best subject, led by and old man in a motorised wheelchair called Mr Brunner. He always wore a fraying tweed jacket and had a tidy beard. He may not sound like a good teacher, but some days he had 'tournament days' and got out a bunch of Greek and Roman combat stuff.

"It's a shame we have to make it through a period of people trying to figure out whether photosynthesis has anything to do with cameras." Annabeth snorted.

"I still can't believe someone said that!"

The bell rang and we walked into the science classroom/laboratory. Workbenches lined the walls on either side of the room with sinks and gas taps. Various types of plants sat wilting on the shelf under the windows as projects for one of the other classes. A large whiteboard was at the head of the class behind the teacher's desk. There was an inconveniently placed door on one wall leading to the room where microscopes and other apparatus was stored. The ground was covered with slippery linoleum that often had muddy shoe tracks across it in winter. I remembered at the beginning of this year the teacher going over the tedious safety rules fi the lab, over and over at the beginning of every lesson.

Annabeth propped herself up on her elbows, scribbling notes in her notebook. I sat on one of the benches, staring at a pen. I could stand on furniture, why couldn't I pick up objects? And I felt...stronger somehow now. It's been a year after all. I saw Annabeth look at me in the corner of my eye but I was concentrating on the pen.

Annabeth's POV

I sat back in the chair and looked over at Percy again. He'd been staring weirdly at the pen before, but when I looked now he had a triumphant gleam in his eyes, a smirk on his face as he held a pen before him. Since when could he do that? Percy slid off the workbench and leaned over my notebook. He drew a single line on the page, looking incredibly pleased with himself. I let myself smile, share this small victory. But it also made me a little sad; that the tiniest of achievements put a brilliant grin on his face, a confidence about him. I wonder what it would be like if everyone took their achievements; big or small as seriously as this.

"Hang on." Percy made me jump in my seat at his sudden exclamation, rushing to the front of the class. He appeared to be scribbling something on the teacher's notebook while she paced the classroom, looking over people's shoulders and breathing down their necks like. I let my thoughts wander, I couldn't believe there was just three weeks left of school, three weeks until the holidays and three weeks until year eight was over. I would be in high school.

"Now the test," I winced at my teacher's shrill voice. Percy, who'd finally returned after whatever he was up to chuckled. "Is in two weeks on the Friday, I want you to mark that date down." The bell interrupted her, the only noise a worthy opponent.

"What ho! To Latin!" I laughed as he charged through the classroom, attracting several odd glances from classmates. Percy watched with an amused expression from the doorway. I heard snatches of whispered conversations from the girls in my class; I'd learnt girls were prone to talking about anyone and everyone as long as there was something dirty to gossip about. It didn't even matter if they were friends, but in my case it didn't matter.

"...crazy...such a loner...she's so pathetic..." But walking across the class as part of the sweet of students whispering about me, girls who don't even know me. Maybe I was overtired, maybe the whole situation was just too ridiculous, but as Percy beckoned me with his lopsided smile and eyes narrowed at the other students, I couldn't help but laugh more. I smiled with confidence because none of these people know me, they're just looking for someone to entertain them, and in three weeks I could be rid of them. I didn't have to change myself, I just hoped they'd learn to grow up.

"To Latin class we go!" I said openly to Percy, not that anyone cared.

**Short chapter, sorry! I have SO much homework, but I will keep trying to update every weekend. REVIEW!**

**~MistFloo~**


	9. Chapter 9

** s/9303476/1/**** this is a really good story, called Leo's Love by Sadie Leo, with a bright future, please read it! Come on team Leo, find out if its time our two main boys get their girlfriends, I'm waiting to find out too!**

Chapter 9

Annabeth's POV

I stared out the window, entranced by the outside world. I saw the gentle sway of the tree branches as the light wind danced through them like wind chimes, painting a song in the air. The textured grass laid over the uneven ground before the asphalt court. A younger class screeched and ran around in a wild game of tag, the supervisor barking out warnings I couldn't hear. The low fence at the edge of the school's properties was gentle and weak, as if it were just marking the boundary, not bothering about whether people left or not. I'd never understood why some people thought if school as a prison, how could they when the sparrows chirped and flitted from classroom to classroom with the sun glinting off their tawny feathers, the pond at the entrance filled with darting fish and almost magical plant life. How could a place that someone had tried so hard to be natural, be thought of as a prison?

"Annabeth?" Percy hissed, jolting me out of my reverie. I tore my eyes away from the window to the front of the class where Mr Brunner was looking at me expectantly. Some of the other students had turned in their seats to look at me, and I wondered what was going on.

"The infix 'ba'." Percy said and I stared at him like he was crazy. Percy sighed and continued urgently.

"Just tell him, you can tell the verb is in the imperfect tense," I repeated the words as he told me. "Because of the infix 'ba' after the present root but before the personal ending." Mr Brunner smiled happily, thanking me for my answer and wheeling back to face the whiteboard once more.

"Don't forget, this revision is imperative for the test coming up, I'd hate for you not to be paying attention." Maybe I imagined it, but his gaze settled on me when he said that.

Percy was sitting in the empty chair beside me, an eye brow raised, his arms folded across his chest. At that moment I was grateful for the uneven number of students in the class, that I always got a full desk to myself. At first, of course, I'd been lonely. I wondered what it was like to sit next to someone, work with, gossip with while the teacher talked.

"You were a million miles away." It was statement, not a question or an accusation. Percy knew me too well. I shrugged, willing myself not to wander off to my own little world again. Percy fixed me a look I didn't know, his green eyes expectant. His eyes were seemingly bottomless, framed with thick dark lashes a girl would probably kill for. Even with the grey-ish light to his skin I could see he had a deep tan, I'm not really sure how it works. His raven hair stuck out at all angles but it didn't make him look scruffy. He was a sight I was so used to, he was as familiar to me as my own reflection at first glance, yet every time I looked closely I would find something new. Like the small crinkles around his eyes from when he smiled, or the little dimples in his cheeks. One day I'd seen something on his neck, but he wouldn't talk to me about it. It was long, jagged and thick mark around the base of his neck which he hid with his jacket collar most of the time. It was white in colour, like an old scar. I'd recognised the flicker of pain, or sadness in his eyes though, and despite how well I knew Percy, I often wondered if I really did.

"Don't worry, you can thank me later." He said smugly and I realised I'd been staring a little. I tried to make it casual by looking past him, over his shoulder at the wall as if I'd been studying the posters instead of him. I considered a retort; it's not like it was a life or death question, I mean, what's with the smugness Mr Jackson?

"I know how much you hate being demoralised." Okay, yeah. And with Drew's little smirk over something so petty as not knowing the answer to a question in class, when the truth was I really hadn't been listening at all, I had to admit I was grateful of Percy, just a little. Mr Brunner wrote the textbook pages on the whiteboard and I spoke discreetly to Percy during the increase of conversations while people 'worked'.

"This is new; you paying more attention in class than me." Percy flicked through the text book, shrugging. I looked nonchalantly around to make sure no one was looking. I wondered what it would look like for other people to see a pen writing on its own, a book floating down the corridor, even a dodgeball fly out of no where. Percy had been careful, but you'd think someone would notice. I suppose it really was true, people saw what they wanted to see, believe what they want to believe.

"I like Latin." He said simply. Looking at him surveying the page, eyes narrowed in concentration I couldn't help but feel a surge of pride. Percy actually felt motivate fm about school. Well, one subject's better than none right? He no longer protested in length about going for runs, and didn't try too often to get me to ditch my homework. After a while he looked up.

"So," Percy looked like he'd remembered something. In nodded and gestured carrying on.

"Are you going to the disco?" The bell rang and I hesitated before packing up?

"Probably not, why?" I replied dryly. It would be filled with the spiteful girls from my grade dancing over enthusiastically and guys too busy throwing paper planes at everyone to notice.

"You should go, it's your graduation!" I shot him a sideways look.

"Why the sudden interest?" Percy shrugged as he walked ahead of me through the door. Huh, still full of surprises.

3 weeks later (time flies)

Percy's POV

"I will never understand how teachers can lecture us about leaving things 'till the last minute, then run tests in the last week of term." Annabeth said, ecstatic after receiving her marks for yesterday's test. Today was the last day of school. Annabeth was practically jumping out of her skin, although she was a little sad she wouldn't get to say goodbye to Luke she was missing running club for the disco tonight. That's right, I'd finally convinced her. I don't get why she wouldn't want to go; she's been at the school for nearly eight years, she should say good bye. And I suppose I was also wondering if she could, I knew she wasn't really the type of person to enjoy parties but maybe it's because she's been to barely any.

"Weddings don't count, anniversaries, family birthdays and baby showers don't count." I said, counting off my fingers. Annabeth glared at me. We walked around the corner, taking a break from the run. Her eyes lit up and she opened her mouth but I cut her off.

"Book fairs definitely don't count as parties." She stared at me incredulously, as if I'd just said I didn't believe in gravity.

"They're more fun..." She grumbled. Her face glowed slightly, her cheeks a darker red from running. She wrung her hands as she walked and I could see those little white marks on her arms. She still did it, pinched herself as if people talking caused her physical pain and this was supposed to lessen it. I tried to grab her shoulders, but no matter how I concentrated my hands passed straight through. I gaze up and stood in front of her, looking right into her sharp grey eyes, looking more like pools of silver when the light hit them.

"You are going to the party." Annabeth pulled a face but didn't refuse. "It'll be fun." She groaned and pointed a finger at me.

"You're coming too." I laughed, like I'd miss it.

"Wouldn't miss it, it's my school too remember." Annabeth grinned evilly.

"Sprint to that power pole, race ya!"

That was last week, and it had taken several lectures to get her to commit to coming tonight. It would be kind of weird, since I can't actually talk to any else there, but I could encourage Annabeth to... Yeah I already knew it was a dumb plan, I'm not sure what I hoped to accomplish here. As we walked out side the gates of school, navigating through huddles of farewelling friends even though they were most likely going to the same high school, little kids being greeted by their parents and teachers who looked a mixture of relieved, exhausted and holy in a kind of unhinged way. Typical school. I felt a twinge of sadness knowing my mum wouldn't be here to see my last day of intermediate. I dismissed it when I realised I'd left Annabeth behind. Her dad was at work all day, still drowning himself in it even after all this time. It was obvious he was caught up on Annabeth's mum, Athena. And I admit its a bit of a wake up call, for the living I mean. I certainly had my fair share of 'wake up calls'. But it seemed wrong that someone as fierce, intelligent and wise as Annabeth's mum could be brought down. I wandered back where Annabeth gazed without a hint of remorse at her school, her _old _school I suppose I can say now. It's modern design was one that meant the school was one big community; the classrooms were arranged in a U with the gym and hall set aside. Awnings gave it a shady area for the summer if it was too hot to sit out on the fields or the court. They'd made an effort to make the place look natural, not something a lot of people did. I had always thought of school as more of a prison, but here it wasn't. Annabeth was bank faced.

"Annabeth? Are you okay?" She looked at me and smiled, her eyes lighting up on their own.

"I'm fine, lets go."

That night

Annabeth and I lay huddled on the couch. The television kind of hurt my eyes in the dark, but I preferred it to the guaranteed dark of the dance floor. Annabeth's dad stood up, kissing her on the forehead.

"Good night Annabeth, don't stay up too later okay?" Annabeth smiled and nodded, bidding him good night. _The Avengers _was a lot more fun than the alternative. Despite my best efforts, we didn't end up going to the disco.

"Thanks for staying home." Annabeth whispered to me on the dark. The blue light illuminated her face from the screen.

"This is more fun anyway." I shrugged. We fell asleep on the couch, and I knew that this _was _more fun.

**Thanks, please review. I just couldn't wait to write next year, I had to update!**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hi, sorry for this author note! Thanks so much for all the support, don't worry I'm yet giving up I'm just giving you an explanation For why I won't be updating for a little while. It might not even be that long, I'll try to update soon but my orchestra is going on tour for two concerts land I'll be away all weekend. Wish me luck, I kind of need it! Promise I'll make it up to you, thanks!**

**~MistFloo~**


	11. Chapter 11

**Okay, I know what I said but I'm leaving tomorrow morning, and I didn't get any homework! To celebrate this and the fact so many people reviewed, I thought I'd quickly release a chapter before leaving. Thanks.**

Chapter 11

Annabeth's POV

The holidays passed quickly, too quickly. It was heaven to be without homework, or responsibilities other than making sure Dad remembered to cook dinner. He was still working on the quality of the food, but it was a fun activity for us today. Percy and I went to the beach a couple of times, but being there on my own didn't have the same thrill of independence accompanying it. Don't worry, I wasn't slack though. Percy and I had been on enough runs in the holiday to be fit enough to outrun anyone. I hadn't really said it out loud, I mean I didn't see the need to, but running was one of my coping methods. A distraction. But I was pumped for the first day of school, _high _school. Is suppose I was officially a teenager, I didn't feel like one on my 13th birthday because year eight doesn't make you feel like a teenager. You're constantly reminded that this is only the beginning, all the work and tests get so much worse and all your problems are really insignificant. But this would be a chance to start afresh, meet new people my age who were;

A: alive.

B: didn't think I was insane.

I knew there was no way to completely avoid every ex-student from my old school, but there were plenty of new students with me. Percy was bouncing on the balls of his feet, he hadn't thought he'd stick around long enough for us to go to high school together, but turns out he wasn't going anywhere. Over the holidays Percy had perfected his ability to touch and use material objects. People didn't work though, and no one could see him. Dad walked us to the bus stop at the end of the street, leaving quickly claiming he knew he was embarrassing me. Honestly, adults think they know so much about children. Okay, teenagers then. I felt slightly nostalgic watching the swell of younger kids making their way to my old school around the corner. I would be catching the bus from now on though, and I'd seen enough movies and read enough books to know this was a tricky business.

"Stop bouncing around, you're making me nervous!" I scolded Percy and he grinned meekly at me. He pushed his hair back off his forehead but it fell right back into his eyes. He'd grown taller than me over the holidays, just a little bit but he was clearly happy about it. The bus screeched to a stop in front of me and I jolted about of my thoughts.

"Come on." Percy said, already surveying the bus. I suppose since he was invisible he could stare at people without it being rude. I payed and thanked the bus driver; a little old man with bushy grey hair and chewing as he grunted in response. I stood in the gangway for a second, clutching onto the nearest post as the bus sped ahead. The back of the bus was filled with senior guys yelling and shoving each other. Senior girls were spread throughout the rest of the bus in groups, while the rest of the seats were occupied with people around my age.

"Over here." Percy said, leading me to a set of empty seats. I winced as I passed a group of squealing girls huddled around an iPod, guys talking animatedly about what sounded like online gaming, and people absorbed in books. The seat was behind a girl who could be my age, with black clothing and spiky hair. Her headphones were so loud I could actually hear her music. Percy and I were silent on the journey, and thankfully no one sat down next to me. When we neared the school everyone began gathering their gear, I followed their lead. As a new student I had to make my way to the hall straight away to listen to a speech by the principle, the mingle with our peers for ten minutes. After that we made our way to our first class along with the rest of the school. It was a bit unnerving having to wade through the crowds of older students meeting up with their friends after the holidays, would I be like them? Or would I still be the girl who talks to herself with no friends? No, no I won't. I ducked behind a swarm of students as I spotted Drew, more glammed (is that a word? I say it...) up than ever.

"Out of all the high schools-" said Percy with distaste, following my gaze. I held up a hand to stop him and we approached the hall. It wasn't hard to find, right at the entrance to the school down a long drive way. The hall was a classic brick block building, box windows and cream arches along the ground level. It was really a beautiful example of classic architecture. Percy rolled his eyes and tried to snap me out of my awed trance. The punk girl sidestepped me and Percy and walked briskly ahead of us to the hall. Huh, so she is a year nine.

"Here we go, another boring welcome speech." Sighed Percy.

"Annabeth honey," Drew's voice rang out above the others behind me. She sashayed in front of me. Her long black hair was layered and severely styled so it barely moved when she walked. Her make up was perfect, she'd obviously done away with the messy little girl look. She wore a too-short electric pink skirt and blouse. I had to admit, she was really pretty, but her personality destroyed it.

"Great to see you," her eyes were cold though her tone was pleasant. She blew a kiss and stalked off inside the hall, taking a seat amongst a gaggle of similarly stylish girls.

"Take a seat!" The teachers called out after the hall filled up. Percy ended up standing next to me on the edge of the seats.

"Welcome to Jefferson High School! We have a lot in store this year with fantastic camps, courses and extra-curricular activities." Oh joy, someone knows how to use alliteration. The principle smiled too widely and pushed his glasses up his nose. "In this school we hope to make every new student feel as welcome as possible. This is why senior 'buddies' will be available to sign up for as guides and mentors. After this you will be issued your timetables, but first I need to go over a few rules..." I tuned out after that.

Percy's POV

"Annabeth, it's done." I said flatly, sitting on the wooden floor. I groaned and stood up, along with the rest of the students. Annabeth and I moved out of the throng before it swallowed us. Annabeth leaned against the far wall, along with a few other people.

"So do you think-"

"Hey." I was interrupted by another voice and looked irritably at the source if the noise. It was the girl from the bus. She stopped in front of Annabeth and I, almost as I she was conscious of me being here. She had spiky black hair and thick eyeliner around her light green eyes. The girl wore thick leather boots and worn black jeans, a silver jacket over the top of a Death to Barbie t-shirt.

"I'm Thalia." She introduced herself. Annabeth froze for a second before she realised she was supposed to answer.

"Hi, I'm Annabeth." Thalia leaned against the brick wall beside Annabeth.

"Those welcome speeches are always so boring." She groaned and Annabeth nodded in agreement. I shifted awkwardly on my feet. What do I do? Annabeth locked eyes with me and I knew she wanted me to stay. Her and Thalia spoke for the rest of the ten minutes. It was obvious Thalia liked to talk; she talked in depth about loads of things she hated in people, good bands and more randomly how frozen yoghurt was her favourite food. Annabeth and her got on weirdly well. One look at them together you'd think they were polar opposites. Thalia was the rebellious looking punk chick while Annabeth was effortlessly dressed, slightly bookish looking and the striking look of intelligence about her that you could not help but see.

"Does he speak?" Thalia said suddenly, pointing at me. Annabeth's eyes widened. I glanced behind me, there was no one there. Was Thalia talking about me? She rolled her eyes at me and turned her attention back to Annabeth.

"Does he not speak English or something?" Annabeth's eyes were flitting between us before she finally managed to choke out;

"You can see him?" Thalia looked at her weirdly. I said something experimentally.

"I'm...Percy." Thalia gave me a hard look.

"So not good English then." The bell sounded but Annabeth and I were too shocked to respond. Thalia could see me, hear me. What the hell was going on? Clearly other people couldn't but-

"I'll see you later." Thalia gave us another weird look before drifting off along with a horde of students.

"What the hell just happened?"

"We have to talk to her," said Annabeth looking slightly dazed. "Come on."

**Reviews please!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Orchestra was soo much fun! We went to Hobbiton on the way down, it was the highlight, IT IS SO AMAZING, IF YOU GET THE CHANCE, DEFINITELY GO! Oh and I just finished City of Fallen Angels, ojnfevojnd have to read the next one. Guess what? I have over 100 reviews! Thank you all soooo much! **

Chapter 12

Thalia's POV

I met up with my cousin, Nico, as the the teachers began to herd the students toward the doors. He nodded in greeting and raised an eyebrow.

"Any luck?" He was referring to my attempt at socialising. I thought over my quest; most people immediately shut me out just because of my appearance, I mean honestly get a grip people. It's not like I'm wearing a rabbit costume, although if I were the girls of this age group would probably approve. Then there Annabeth and Percy; weird couple if you ask me. But then, I suppose it's hard for a foreign student to be stuck with a wall flower as a host.

"Not really, you?" Nico spread his hands.

"Take a look around." I chuckled as I saw people eyeing us suspiciously, giving us a slightly wider berth than normal. Geez, we weren't that weird. Nico was wearing his standard plain black t-shirt and too-long jeans with an aviator jacket over the top. His jet black hair was swept to the side and falling into his obsidian eyes, which contrasted incredibly with his pallid face. He had the slightly jumpy look of an escaped convict. Not that he was one, its his ADHD. Nico brandished a silver skull ring and single piercing in his ear; nothing too sinister or outrageous and yet everyone treated us like we had the plague. I twisted one of my own earrings as I surveyed the crowd; scuffing my boots against the polished wooden floor.

"Those people are looking at us." Nico said bluntly, even pointing at two figures walking in our direction. I sighed as I recognised them.

"The girl's called Annabeth, the guy's Percy." I informed him as Annabeth stood in front of me, looking slightly breathless and a cautious look in her intelligent grey eyes. She really was almost the complete opposite to me; Annabeth dressed to blend into the background. With navy blue three-quarter length trousers, a grey t-shirt and a plain jacket there wasn't anything to bother anyone, get anyone's attention. Sometimes I thought I should be more like that, but then I remembered being unnoticed is boring, the real excitement is centre stage. Annabeth had that typical California girl look with curly blonde hair and a perfect tan. She was obviously fit, you could tell in the way she walked, but at the same time you could see from her stance she wasn't very confident.

"Hi I'm Nico." My cousin said to break the ice. Annabeth regarded him politely but turned her attention immediately back to me. Percy stood almost protectively by her side. Now that we were in different light he looked kind of ill; his skin had an almost faded look about it. Nico held out his hand to Percy just as Annabeth was about to speak. She stared at Nico as he lowered his hand awkwardly, after it was clear Percy wasn't going to return it. Percy looked confused and I began to grow sick of this. Maybe they were home-schooled or something and haven't met a lot of people their age? I don't know, I really don't. All I know us that Annabeth would not be pleased if the wind blew right now and froze her face in the expression of a fish out of water.

"Can we help you?" I said impatiently and Nico shot me a sideways look. I scowled at him and turned my attention back to Annabeth. She swallowed and stood up a little straighter. I could almost see the gears grinding furiously behind her eyes.

"You can see Percy?" She said slowly. Annabeth had done away with the panic and her tone was even and controlled. Man I wish I could do that. I looked at Percy; and yeah I could definitely see him. Percy was kind of hard to miss, in contrast to Annabeth. He was a couple of inches taller than us, with defined muscles in his legs and arms. He wore beige Bermuda shorts and a blue t-shirt. He had a deeper tan than Annabeth, but with that weird grey quality about it. His eyes were bright against his skin though, the rich green colour of emeralds. Percy's hair was black like Nico's, but shorter and tousled casually. He had the sort of skateboarder look about him crossed with one of the guys who spends most of his time surfing and running up and down the beach.

"Yeah, why wouldn't we be able to-" Nico started but he fell silent. Percy winced slightly, more a look of embarrassment than pain as his right arm became a swirl of grey mist and a student passed straight through his body. A kind of choked noise came from my throat as his arm reformed. Annabeth was biting her lip and watching us tentatively.

"Students make your way to the cafeteria now as we have gone over time." The rest if the school moved as one in the direction of the building, but after what I just saw I wasn't hungry,

"As you can see, things are a bit complicated."

Nico's POV

I bent over and splashed my face with water, staring at my gaunt expression in the grimy mirror as I tried to come to terms with what I'd seen. Thalia, Annabeth and Percy were waiting for me outside but I'd excused myself to the bathroom. No one else could see Percy, it was no wonder Annabeth was so shocked. People simply passed through him, even we couldn't touch him. It was obvious Percy had been around a while; him and Annabeth were too close for this to be a recent occurrence. And then there was the whole 'holy crap how can these people see me' look from both of them. I ran my hand through my shaggy black hair and pushed the swinging door open. I spotted the others sitting on a set of concrete stairs a few metres away. As well as the nausea I felt seeing Percy's body dissolve and reform like that, it was accompanied by a strong curiosity. I mean yeah, there are loads of 'ghost' stories but I never really believed them. But is this what they meant, is Percy a ghost? Thalia beckoned and I practically fell onto the steps beside her. She'd moved in with me, my dad, my Dad's wife and her mother after running away from home. It was a relief to have her around; my step mum Stephanie (more normal than Persephone. Athena is a sort of normal name but I'm changing Demeter, Hades and Persephone etc to more modern names) doesn't like me much and her mother is batty as hell.

"So you're probably wondering what's going on..." Started Annabeth, visibly searching for what to say.

"Pfft, no, this sort of thing happens all the time." Thalia said, her voice thick with sarcasm. Annabeth stared at her, clearly not amused.

"What happened?" I asked no one in particular. "Are you, is he-"

"I was in a car accident when I was twelve." Percy said quietly. Twelve, that would have been around two years ago.

"How long have you...been like this?" Thalia said, no longer joking. The look on Percy's face was chilling; he looked like a ghost.

"I woke up straight away, in Annabeth's house. I've been haunting her ever Percy said _haunting_ Annabeth cracked a smile and looked like she was about to smack Percy affectionately, but brought her hand down. Those two sat close together, even though they wouldn't actually make contact, but close enough to touch. No wonder, they'd been together for a long time considering it sounds like Percy just showed up one day.

"We've been through quite a lot, we've gotten used to the fact we're on our own. You two are the first people we've met who could see him."

"And you haven't told anyone?" Annabeth chuckled.

"Right, and look like a lunatic, no way." She twisted a lock of golden hair around her finger. She glanced at her watch and stood up, followed quickly by Percy. Thalia held up a hand for me to pull her up and dusted off her jeans.

"We should go, we have to be assigned our form classes." Annabeth said tiredly. We began to walk the rest of the way down the flight of stairs when I noticed Thalia and Percy were a couple of steps behind.

Percy's POV

"What's that?" Thalia said and I realised she was talking to me. Annabeth caught me eye from the bottom of the stairs but I nodded and she continued, talking to Nico. I turned my attention back to Thalia. She had been leaning against the railing a second ago, the sleeves of her uncharacteristically silver jacket pushed up above her elbows as she folded her arms across her chest, now she advanced. She was looking at my neck, probably at the area if skin just above my collarbones. I adjusted my shirt to cover the thick white scar that ran over the top of my shoulder down my back where it met multitude of others.

"Nothing." I said, shrugging. Thalia sighed irritably.

"I've seen scars like that before, Percy. I know you didn't just fall over one day and-"

"Where've you seen them before?" I inquired. Her expression hardened and she turned on her heel, walking down the stairs. She pulled her jacket sleeves down, but not before I caught a glimpse of angry white lines cutting across the back of her forearm, like something had been thrown and pierced her skin. I felt my heart contract, I knew those wouldn't be the only marks. And I knew that they were more than skin deep.

**Dun dun dun...**

**I know it's awful, but there's a short story to go with that information that you'll hear soon enough ;)**

**Stay awesome everyone.**

**~MistFloo~**


	13. Chapter 13

**This is a kind of short chapter sorry but I haven't updated in ages. It's just; I have so much to write, you have no clue of the great ideas and twists I have in store for this story, but I can't rush. Plus I've been at a waterpolo tournament all long weekened, we did ok...oh well, I'm not bothered, here you go!**

Chapter 13

Annabeth's POV

Percy caught up with me after school outside the gate. I had to admit, I was a bit annoyed he decided to ditch me and go to class with Nico after lunch; I mean, we'd been in the same classes for almost two years. But Thalia and I really hit it off. She was completely different to Percy, or really anyone I'd met. She wasn't fazed at all by what people thought about her, she always spoke her mind so there were no hidden meanings or games. I was used to dealing with honest people, like Percy, when I had to converse with someone like Drew all the twisted statements left my mind in knots. It was also great to be ablest to talk to someone, out loud, in class. To be able to openly acknowledge someone's existence and know that no one was looking at me strangely if I laughed under my breath, smiled a bit. And boy did Thalia like to make a scene in class. You know that one kid who always has a comeback, always has a witty or sarcastic remark, or challenges the teacher when a normal person would be trying to melt into the back of their chair? That's Thalia. You should see her face when they pull the;

"I don't want to send you out of the classroom on the first day," line. She literally sat back in her chair, put her feet on the desk and shrugged. That was in English though, and Thalia was right. The teacher, Ms Felt, tried to convince me that reading fiction books were pointless. I barely mentioned my reading habits, and if she'd listened a little longer she would've know I mainly read architecture books anyway, before she interrupted and explained how the wild and completely unlikely ideas 'rot your brains and give you unrealistic expectations of life!' Thalia stuck up for me, and a few other gob smacked members of the class. She ended up getting a 'red slip', a warning card that if she gets three of, she gets a detention. She now has two, and promised to behave better tomorrow.

"Ugh, I wish Nico would hurry up." Thalia groaned she paced impatiently outside the school gate. I leaned against the stone wall, my bag at my feet.

"It's like he tries to walk at snails' pace!" She hadn't taken her jacket off all day, despite the warm weather. I saw the peeping of silver around her neck, a chain of some sort as she swung around on a No Parking sign.

"You know if you're lucky, next time you do that you'll swing right out in front of a car." I said in a faux excited tone. Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Just get away from the drive way and I'll leave you alone." Thalia grumbled but miraculously obeyed.

"Look, here they come." Percy and Nico had just come out of a building, looking worn out.

"Ooh he's hot!" Thalia said in a hushed tone, pointing discreetly at a passing student. I waved to Percy, which I could do now that Nico was with him, and shrugged in response to Thalia. She elbowed neck and pointed again.

"Alright don't seem too eager!" I grumbled.

"What are we being too eager about?" Said Percy. I made a mental note to insist on going to class with Percy. Whatever they'd been doing; Nico and him looked exhausted.

"Just some guy Annabeth has a huge crush on." I gaped at Thalia who was inspecting her nails with a mischievous look on her face. That little... I was lost for words.

"No I don't." I spluttered. It was ridiculous! Empty accusations like that were just pointless, and immature, and-and...why is this so annoying? Percy's face was flushed and Nico was chuckling. He threw and arm around Thalia's shoulder and we turned toward the gate.

"Right, well we all know what that means." Thalia feigned shock and I frowned in confusion. I hadn't really talked to anyone my age other than Percy for a few years, I was completely unused to social conventions. But they seemed to just be teasing, having a bit of fun.

"A huge crush?" Percy's tone was casual but with an edge. I inspected his expression but it was easy enough.

"Shut up kelp head." Thalia whistled and proclaimed it was time for them to leave.

"See you guys tomorrow." They waved and set off down the street. Percy ran a hand through his hair and we stood in the same spot awkwardly for a moment.

"We should go too."

"Yeah."

Much later

Percy's POV

Annabeth finished telling me what her day had been like today and we fell silent. It was 10 o'clock, and an oddly crisp night for summer. We were both sitting on my bed in checkered blankets, whispering in the dark. It was something we did practically every night, a chance to take a loads off, talk when no one was watching. In the dimness I could make out the shape of Annabeth's face, I knew where her grey eyes were and stared up at the ceiling, knew the curve of her cheekbones above the dimples appeared when she smiled. I could almost picture her tucking a lost strand of hair behind her ear as she talked. Annabeth fell back on the bed, sighing and making it bounce.

"I'm worried about Dad." Her voice was so soft it was barely audible. I leaned back and sat against the headboard.

"Why?"

"He's out quite a lot. I don't know if its work or something, but he's hardly ever home during the day." Her voice was strained, and I wondered how I hadn't noticed.

"Hey. Don't worry about him. Your dad's an adult, he can do things for himself." Annabeth murmured in polite agreement but I knew she wasn't convinced. She turned on her side and whispered;

"Good night Seaweed Brain." She gathered up her blanket and shuffled towards the bedroom door.

"Night Wise Girl." Annabeth shut the door with a soft _'click'_ and I was left alone. I rubbed my face and thought over today. I'd met two people who could see and hear me; pretty positive. Nico and I had teachers who delighted in speaking to their speeches in a monotone; sleep inducing. Then there was that one comment I couldn't get off my mind.

"This guy Annabeth has a huge_ crush on_." I knew Thalia was just teasing, but why did that get on my nerves so much? I'd never really thought of Annabeth _liking _anyone. I shook myself and tried to quell the burst of irrational anger flaring inside me. Annabeth's personal life is nothing to do with me, it was just a joke, and I'm going to sleep right...now.

**Sorry it's so short! Please review, but not with suggestions because trust me I know ****_exactly _****what I'm doing ;)**

**~MistFloo~**


	14. Chapter 14

**Oh my gods, my first weekend in two weeks when I can sleep! Guess what, I HAVE 88 FOLLOWERS! May not seem like a lot compared to the really successful stories, but I'm happy. Thank you all so much!**

Annabeth's POV

Thalia and I walked side-by-side along the footpath behind Percy and Nico. Thalia was spurting a steady stream of warnings about what Nico's 'parents' were like. It was weird to think it had been two months since that first day at school when we'd met them, but now we were finally getting a glimpse at their broken family. Thalia had told me ages ago that Nico's father Hayden spent most of his time locked up in his study with a bottle of beer, or asleep, or just staring into space. But the reason was what sent my stomach churning. Nico's older sister Bianca and his mother died back when they still lived in Italy a few years ago. It made me think of my dad; would he still be mourning mum in the years to come? Would he ever truly recover? And what about poor Nico, he must be heartbroken. But of course Thalia waved that worry away, Nico didn't like pity and in her eyes didn't need it. I was staring at Percy as we walked, not entirely listening to Thalia natter on. He'd grown so he was still about three inches taller than me. Everything about him was so familiar; the way he walked with long loping strides, the ways his messy self-cut hair fell into his eyes and curled against the back of his neck, the way his ears raised ever so slightly and dimples appeared in his cheeks when he smiled. The tone of his voice was as familiar to me as my own, yet the different expressions of his were sometimes infuriatingly unreadable.

"Okay we're here Annie," Thalia always spoke about Nico's family in a careful tone, never real hatred or anger which I knew she was capable of. It's like 'hey, this isn't great, but I've even much worse.' I was hoping to find out what was worse today. Nico was leading the up to the front door of the house in front, but I was frozen on the street. In front of the house was the most incredible garden I had ever seen; with fruit trees and multi-coloured flowers, bushes and vegetable patches; and everything was flourished. I was able to move my legs again and gazed open mouthed as I made my way up the shell path; watching the birds flutter from the different plants, the ripe fruits of the pomegranate tree, the garden radiated life.

"Wow." I said, and my voice came out in a gasp. Not many people had gardens, certainly not like this.

"Don't let it fool you." Said Nico in a hard tone. I caught Percy's eyes and he shot me a little half smile. My stomach lurched a bit, not in a bad way really, before he turned and followed Nico through the front doors.

"All right stop gawking and come on inside." Said Thalia impatiently, leaning against the door frame. I jumped up the stairs and met her in the doorway.

"Stephanie and Devon (Persephone and Demeter sorry!) are find of their garden." Thalia sounded reigned and I pictured her in gum boots and gloves, helping hack at weeds or plant flowers. I shuddered and proceeded through the door. The inside of the house was summed up easily in one word; dark. It was also eerily quiet, the creak of the floorboards painfully loud as Thalia, seemingly not bothered, shut the door and led the way. There were several closed doors, one with faint sounds from behind it. The atmosphere was definitely gloomy, and a little creepy.

"We're in here." Percy stuck his head out one of the doors at the end of the hall way. I nodded and smiled in reply to Percy and Thalia shot me a sideways look.

"What?" Thalia shrugged.

"All right kelp head, we're coming." Percy rolled his eyes and walked back inside the room ahead of us. Thalia had rather taken to the nickname.

Later

Thalia took off her jacket, and I found myself staring at her arms. Nico came back into the room carrying a packet of chips and threw them on the floor when I finally formed a question.

"What are those marks on your arm?" Percy was stoic. Thalia looked down and her smile faded. She sighed and looked up at Nico almost apologetically.

"Okay well, it's kind of a king story." I looked at Nico who was turning a chair around and sitting down, his eyes on Thalia. He didn't know.

"We're listening." Thalia sighed again and started wringing her hands absently.

"Okay so, I don't know my dad. He left my mum before I was even born. My mum worked on tv and just loved attention." Thalia spoke bitterly. "When she was chucked off the air, she took to drinking pretty heavily. Then, she decided everything was my fault! Ha, couldn't even take responsibility for her own screw ups."

"You told me you ran away." Nico said in a small voice. Thalia replied;

"I did. Because every time she got really drunk, and really angry, she would..take out her frustration. On me. So I ran away and came here, Nico's dad is my father's brother." I think that was Thalia's way of saying she was abused at home. It's hard to tell because her explanation was succinct, and her voice void of emotion.

"But hey, no one has a perfect life at home, right?" Thalia shot a look at Percy, who tugged self consciously on his collar. Weird, but I had to agree. None of us had perfect lives, but for the first time in years I had friends my own age. My mum would've been happy. I felt vibrating from my pocket and pulled out my phone.

"Sorry, my dad's calling me." I was a little surprised; Dad never used his phone. Percy looked worried but I excused myself into the hall way to answer. I wanted to talk to Thalia more, but I knew I shouldn't ignore my dad.

"Hello."

"Annabeth, could you come home." Blunt, but he didn't sound upset.

"Why?"

"Annabeth we just need to talk about some things, and I'd rather not do it over the phone. Come home, it's getting late anyway." Dad's voice wavered a bit.

"Dad can you just-"

"See you soon!" The phone clicked off. I stared in disbelief, my Dad _never _acted like that. And he sounded...excited, nervous, I don't know. And I _hate _not knowing things. I turned and was about to say goodbye to the others when the door beside Nico's room opened. An old woman shuffled out; it must have been Devon.

"Hello dear." Crap, I hate talking to old people, I never know what to say.

"Hi." She was standing between me and the door. Devon studied me and tutted.

"You could use some more cereal girl." What?

"Pardon?"

"Cereal is great, and bread too." With that Devon nodded and continued to walk down the hall. I was frozen in the hall way for a second, staring after her. Nico was right; the old woman _was_ losing her marbles. I shook myself and stood in the doorframe.

"Sorry, we have to go." Thalia and Nico waved as Percy got up.

"Is everything alright?"

"I don't know," I answered truthfully. "But lets go."

**At home**

Percy's POV

Frederick had insisted on them eating before saying anything, much to Annabeth's distress. Her brow was creased and her eyes were down cast, I knew she was thinking furiously over what her dad had called her home for. He looked, all right, maybe a bit nervous. I'd never been that good at reading people so I couldn't tell, but he didn't seem sad.

"Annabeth, you know how I've been out a lot more now." Annabeth met his eyes and nodded stiffly.

"Well-"

"Oh my god, you're sick aren't you!" Annabeth had an expression of pure terror on her face. Frederick shook his head.

"No, don't be ridiculous. I was at work one day and-"

"And the circus came to town, the end." Frederick and I both looked at Annabeth with a mix of concern and confusion.

"You're-"

"Annabeth." Her dad interrupted with a no-nonsense voice. He continued in a softer time. "I'm seeing someone." Annabeth dropped her fork, and unless I was mistaken, Frederick cowered a little, looking afraid she might hit him. Instead, Annabeth stood up and walked calmly upstairs, ignoring her father's requests for her to return. I flinched at the sound of a door slamming upstairs. I was alone with her dad, not that he could see me.

"That could've gone worse." He muttered, and started to clean up the dishes. But I sat frozen, looking after Annabeth. I'd experienced all minds of anger from her; loud anger, violent anger, tired anger and sarcastic anger. But never, had I seen silent anger, and I don't think it could've gone worse.

**Not my best chapter, but hope you liked it. Please review, it really makes my day ;)**

**~MistFloo~**


	15. Chapter 15

**Guys, this is a bit of a filler chapter, abruptly ending and it's an author's note that you HAVE to read. Sorry for the complication, but it's important.**

Chapter 15

Annabeth's POV

The year had been and gone phenomenally fast. My fourteenth birthday wasn't as quiet as usual, because this year Thalia had a say in it. Probably the worst moment of my life; when my dad told me he planned to marry some OTT, all sweetness and sunshine lady that made me want to gag. What's worse, she hates my guts. Not only that, she has two devil children of her own. I've only had the displeasure of seeing them once, my father and Sue's relationship was pretty swift. Nico's explanation was them being middle-aged 'no time to lose!' Ugh. But I think my first year of high school was much better than my previous school years. For the first time I would be able to say to Mum, if she was here that is, that yes I had talked to someone my own age. Yes, I did have friends and no, my peers weren't being too horrid. Keyword of course; too. I wouldn't exactly say Thalia was fighting my battles for me, or that she was protecting me; because I definitely didn't need it. But, she helped. Anytime she over heard a snarky remark, any time someone tried to mock me they'd learned Thalia didn't take well to teasing. Her and Nico were doing okay at home; apparently last week Hayden had left the house with much coaxing from his wife. I'd been managing to avoid seeing the councillor for several weeks, even though I was technically due for a 'check-up'. At least people had stopped complaining to her that I was insane; talking to Percy had become a lot easier.

Percy. It's weird to think people really have no clue about him, no idea that the impossible is actually possible. Okay, not everything, lets not get carried away. What seemed a bit impossible was that I had a best friend, I know Percy was a total seaweed brain sometimes but I was closer to him than I'd ever been to, well, anyone.

I don't know if it made it worse or better when he had finally told me a little more about his past. Was it bad my first thought was 'why didn't he tell me?' Which of course left an awkward situation afterwards where neither of us knew what to say.

He didn't know his father, he'd left Percy's family before he was born. So for some weird reason his mum, who sounds like the most lovely woman ever, married some...pig. To put it nicely. Percy's expression when he described his mum, Sally Jackson, was alien to me. His gaze was sort of distant and glazed over, with this cute half-smile on his face. Apparently she worked in this little sweets shop that went toward her college funds; Sally had always wanted to be a writer. But this meant she wasn't at home a lot, and Percy was left alone with Gabe. Percy had pulled down the collar of his shirt to show my the scars, had said briefly he was also branded with lash marks across his back but it all seemed so unreal. I guess I never really thought adults were capable of doing that to children, I could never imagine anyone being so horrid. And I had absolutely no idea what to say.

We have a school camp coming up, my first camp longer than a day. Percy seemed equally as excited, it wasn't often school involved something fun. And three days of rock climbing, archery, horse riding and canoeing seemed unreal. On the downside I knew Percy would probably stay in a cabin with Nico, it's just I'm so used to our late night conversations, our stolen moments away from the drama of real life it would be...weird, to say the least.

"Annabeth?" I started a bit at the sound of a voice, it was still dark and no one else should be awake. I considered ignoring him, it would be easier for both of us to sleep that way. But I wanted to talk, during the day he'd been quite...distant these lately.

"Percy?" I sat up, hugging my covers up close to my chest.

"Can I come in?" His voice was hoarse and my stomach got this weird hollow feeling.

"Why?" There was a pause and I guessed he was thinking.

"You're right," he said after a while. "I'll go."

"Percy? Come back!" I heard him laugh a little and knew he'd stayed, even though I couldn't hear any sign if movement.

"I've been thinking..." He started, his voice was close. "That I want to go home." I froze.

"To my old apartment I mean." Percy amended quickly and I sighed, relieved. I thought he meant he wanted to...disappear or something. Leave me. I found my voice.

"How come?" Percy sighed and I got the feeling he was lying back on my bed.

"I just get this feeling something will _happen _if I go back. I can't stay like this forever, can I?"

_No, and he won't either._

**Okay readers, I have a dilemma. I sorta have writer's block for this. It's especially frustrating because I know EXACTLY what I want to do later. So I was wondering if it would be all right with everyone if I kind of skipped to age sixteen? Please review to say whether you'd be all right with that, okay? Because I have just about all the other story points I need, I just can't seem to write more at this point in time. Sorry for the über short and boring chapter, but for some excitement I could skip... I need your opinions!**

**~MistFloo~**


	16. Chapter 16

**Not a great chapter, but nice cliffy for you all. **

Chapter 16

Percy's POV

The last few years passed right before me. Annabeth and I both went on our first school camp, where I found out I was terrible at archery, freaking quite a lot of people out in the process. Drew had started throwing house parties, practically everyone was invited, not Annabeth, Nico or Thalia as you could probably imagine. Man, we'd heard some nasty stories about those. Last year Annabeth won the zone cross country, but I still reckon I beat her. Sue, the step mother, turned out to be okay, at first she wouldn't even let Bobby and Matthew (her sons) be in the same room as Annabeth. I was disgusted. And I visited my old house, well not technically. I didn't go inside because people lived there now, but it was weird being there. And something happened that day that I haven't told anyone about, not even Annabeth. See when I stood in the doorway of the building, I kind of...flickered. It was pretty terrifying, it's sort of like I fainted, I felt all dizzy and there was this burst of darkness. What's worse is that it didn't happen the one time either, for the last two years I've been...flickering. Sometimes I hear strange noises in the darkness, see a flash of light or I think I hear a voice. But then it's over, and I'm regular ghostly me. But that wasn't my biggest problem, or the thing that was constantly in my thoughts. Despite the fact that it was a problem I should probably address, I was happy to ignore it right now.

Annabeth and I both turned sixteen this year, hard to believe I know. Four whole years, my old life seems like a dream.

"Ugh! Why do they keep holding their bloody horns at me!" Annabeth huffed, sitting at the wheel of the car where she had assured her father she was ready to be. (Point of interest, can people be learner drivers at 16 in the states? You can in NZ)

"Annabeth, you forgot to indicate." I said, sitting in the back seat listening to Frederick say the same thing in the front seat. Despite being a total brainiac, it turned out cars didn't agree with Annabeth. Annabeth groaned and gained a pained look.

"Why do I keep forgetting the simple things?" She muttered, searching the road in front of her. Frederick smiled encouragingly and told her to head back home.

"Hey, at least you remembered to out your seat belt on." I joked, and I saw Annabeth shake her head almost imperceptibly in response.

When we got home the step family out, and Annabeth's dad decided to make a run to the supermarkets. Annabeth and I were left home alone for the first time in ages. Her dad had been extra careful to keep an eye on her lately, claiming 'he could sense when something was wrong'. We got to talk less and less often, and even I had to admit Annabeth seemed quite distracted recently. She sat down on the stairs, her head in her hands.

"Y'okay?" I asked, settling next to her. She shook her head but didn't look up. I longed to reach out and rub her back, touch her shoulder, push her hair back off her face. But I couldn't, still.

"Is it the driving? Because you know you just need to take it slow and-"

"It's not the driving." She interrupted.

"Then what?" Annabeth sat up and looked at me, her eyes full of longing.

"I-I want to tell Dad about you." My mouth grew dry.

"Why?" I said slowly, and Annabeth's confident expression faltered.

"I'm sick of looking like a madwoman, and he keeps worrying about me all the time. If he just understood-"

"Annabeth, he won't." I cut in. "What are you going to say? 'Hey dad, for the last four years this boy named Percy who may or may not be a ghost has been following me around who only me, Thalia and Nico can see. I'm not crazy!'" A look of hurt flickered across her features, but it was better than seeing what would happen if she did tell him. What if he didn't believe her? What if he thought she was mental? Surely me telling her no first was better than her own father thinking she's gone insane. Annabeth pursed her lips.

"You don't know what he'll say," Annabeth replied quietly. I reached out to grasp her hand but my fingers passed through. Annabeth appreciated the gesture at least, and her expression softened a bit.

"Is it a really bad idea?" Her voice was resigned as she looked up at me through dark eyelashes. Before I could answer her phone rang from her pocket. She sighed, muttering that it was probably her dad, and turned away. In that split second she wasn't looking the stairs fell away from beneath swamped my vision, before a blinding flash of light and I was back on the stairs. Annabeth was no where to be seen.

"Percy! Get in here!" Her urgent voice carried from the lounge. I jumped to my feet, still shaken from the flicker and ran to Annabeth. She was sitting on the arm of a couch, staring at the television, a hand over her mouth. When I entered the room she looked at me with a bit of horror.

"Where'd you go? Anyway, that's _him_ isn't it?" She pointed to the tv and I followed her hand. My stomach dropped as I registered the new, someone being interviewed. And Annabeth was right. I sat on the chair beside me, staring in shock, horror and disgust at the man on the tv.

"That's him."

**Can you guess who it is? Probably...**


	17. Chapter 17

**Mwa. Ha. Ha.**

Chapter 17

Percy's POV

"The media do love digging up old cases, especially the unresolved. Right now we have with us Gabe Ugliano, a victim in the tragedy that caused a lot of disturbance for us." Said one news reporter in a slightly nasal voice.

"Yes, are we really safe in our cars? What are the laws concerning such situations?" Affirmed another reporter.

"A victim?" I said incredulously. My voice came out smaller than I anticipated and I saw Annabeth shoot me a concerned look in my peripheral.

"So anyway, it was a car accident four years ago," the reporter stressed the time, tossing her hair while she sat on a plush couch beside Gabe. "And it's still coming up today because there have been many speculations as to whether it was an accident or not. Gabe, why don't y tell us what happened?"

Annabeth's POV

Gabe nodded sombrely, running a hand through his greasy hair. He began to tell the tale, turning on the waterworks every now and then as well as adding his on details. I studied Percy; his face pale and drawn. His knuckles were white from clenching his fists and he stared at the man on the television with a fierce hatred. I felt my own stomach churn, thinking of what that cretin did to Percy. I hadn't been paying much attention to the tv because Percy had already given me an exact account, but then the reporter mentioned family. Gabe nodded and wiped his eyes.

"Yes, my beautiful and loving wife Sally was-was killed in the accident." Gabe choked up and the reporter, though not looking pleased about it, leaning over and touched his armed comfortingly.

"Your son, Percy was also involved I hear-"

"Step-son." Gabe pointed out.

"She's dead?" I heard Percy murmur.

"I'll never forgive him for what he did. He grabbed the wheel, you know? Jerked it to the right so we crashed. I always knew he was a messed up kid, doing drugs by that time I imagine with that friend of his." The reporter looked shocked at Gabe's harshness.

"Really? We have reports, from school and eye witness accounts. We also have some accounts from neighbours who saw-"

"I'm telling ya, he was out of control." Gabe insisted, cutting the reporter off dangerously. I rose and crossed the room to grab the remote and shut it off. I couldn't stand the glazed look in Percy's eyes, it was like he was completely overwhelmed by the range of emotions crashing over him. Percy held an arm out though, as if to stop me.

"I need to see." His voice was too quiet, his green eyes a raging ocean. The phone rang and I answered it immediately, knowing it was Thalia.

"Can you believe this!" Her voice shouted, abandoning formalities. "How can they believe that lying little roach!"

"I know, did you hear the things he said about Percy." I spoke lowly, observing Percy with his careful gaze locked on the man who'd made his life hell.

"We need to do something, get that bastard locked up!" Thalia said as if it were the most simple thing in the wall.

"Thalia it isn't that simple." I replied, though I wholeheartedly agreed.

"Yes it is! Maybe it was a car accident but he abused a child, wouldn't be surprised if he was abusing Sally too, why else would she stay?" I heard Nico agreeing in the background.

"We can't prove that!" I hissed.

"Yes we can!" Thalia said in an excited voice, the voice I dreaded from her. "We can tell them about Percy, get him to write down the truth or something, it the media I'm sure they'd just lap it up." Her tone was bitter; Thalia's mum had been on tv after all.

"And if they think its a trick? Think we're insane? Plus, that whole writing thing isn't such a great idea." I bit my lip and looked sideways at Percy before walking just outside the room. This was the first time I'd voiced my concern, I hadn't said anything to Percy about it. Luckily for me he was so absorbed in the interview right now.

"What do you mean?" Thalia's voice had dropped several decibels thankfully.

"Well, he hasn't said anything about it but, I noticed he hasn't been able to, um-"

"Get on with it will you!" I scowled at her impatience.

"He hasn't really been able to pick anything up lately. And he keeps disappearing-"

"Look I'm really sorry Annie, but I have to go. Tell me more at school." The phone clicked off but I kept it held up to my ear for a few seconds.

"Thanks Thalia." I muttered and walked back into the living room.

"What was that all about." Percy mumbled.

"Just Thalia, outraged you can imagine." I replied and the corner of his mouth quirked up in a small half-smile.

"Aren't we all?"

"Thank you so much for answering our questions today, it's been most...informative." The reporter turned her attention to the camera.

"Following this we have a special guest we managed to track down with an interesting tale of his own, and what's more a connection to the troubled Percy Jackson!" Percy and I frowned.

"Who?"

"He survived being lost at sea and ship-wreck, living in a foreign country until making his way back to the States!" Percy jumped to his feet.

"No."

"We now have with us sea farer, Poseidon Jackson!" My eyes widened; Percy's dad? Could it actually be? But the moment the camera fixed on him I knew it was true. They had the same black hair, though Poseidon had a dark stubble over his jaw. His eyes were dark green, and you could see the ocean in them just like Percy. There were crinkles around his eyes from maybe smiling though they were faded in comparison to the deep frown lines on his forehead.

"That's my dad." Percy said, no disbelief, no surprise, no emotion. "That's my dad."

Then Percy walked out of the room, out of the house, straight through my Dad as he walked up the stairs to our house.

"You alright Annabeth?" Dad asked as I looked over his shoulder, watching Percy storm down the street. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

**Plot twist! Sorry it's such a short chapter everyone!**

**Review and take a look at the other story I started Fates Entwined, it has a bright future.**

**~MistFloo~**


	18. Chapter 18

**Just finished watching Reichenbach Fall. Need I say more? **

Annabeth's POV

Percy didn't return for hours, so I was stuck doing homework on my bed alone. I kept glancing at the clock on my computer screen, wondering where the hell Percy could be. I sat cross-legged on my bed, tapping my pen nervously against my knee and a pencil stacked begin my ear. I'd already changed into my pyjamas, well actually a singlet and shorts and the giant fluffy slippers Percy and I had had a good laugh about. And no matter how much I tried to focus on the graphics work in front of me, my mind kept flitting back to the two men I'd seen on the television hours earlier. Of course I felt a stronger surge of anger when I saw Gabe, the man who had abused Percy as a child pleading his case as if he were a victim. And the things he'd said about Percy were just...ridiculous, to say the least. And his mother, the legendary Sally Jackson who I had dearly wanted to meet, was gone. Percy and I were both motherless, only he'd gotten a vile stepdad and never known his own father was even alive. Until know. What did Poseidon's sudden appearance mean for him? By the way Percy ran off you'd think he wanted nothing to do with him. Only he couldn't think that way; it's his own father, right? I know Percy like the back of my hand; his moods and gestures, his body language and tones, his nature. But only on very few occasions have I known his thoughts.

I wonder if maybe he'd want to seek out his dad, tell him... He didn't seem keen on the idea before though, and I s'pose it might just be cruel to tell Mr Jackson his son was truly dead after all those years separated.

"Hey Annabeth,"

Percy's POV

Annabeth jumped and looked straight at me, standing awkwardly in the doorway. She was sitting on her bed with books laid out in front of her, and various types of pencils tucked behind ears and what looked like holding her hair in a bun. Her grey eyes narrowed and she jumped off the bed, thundering towards me.

"And where the hell have you been?" She hissed, advancing angrily. And instead of feeling ashamed for running off, worried what Annabeth thought of me, or even angry in return at Annabeth's unreasonable attitude, a much more dangerous thought occurred to me. A thought I didn't know what to do with, it was simply what I saw and what I felt. Annabeth was in front of me, her hands on hips, her singlet sleeve falling off her shoulder, clad in giant fluffy slippers and her hair full of drawing apparatus. Her grey eyes were sharp and her lips clamped together in the familiar look of impatience coupled with anger, but was washed away when I saw the bit of toothpaste at the side of her mouth. And when she again demanded an answer instead of answering immediately or apologising or even saying why I did it, which I'd been thinking of how to say for the duration of my walk, I found myself utterly dumbstruck. Why? Because in that moment Annabeth Chase, my best friend and longest companion, looked probably the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen.

"If I could you'd be on the ground right now, Jackson," Annabeth said and I was jolted back to reality.

"What did you say?" Annabeth threw a pencil at me in frustration, but of course it passed right through and hit the door at my back.

"Where'd you go?" The fire had gone out and was replaced with curiosity. I sighed and walked through her to the other side of the room.

"For a walk. I just freaked out and..." Annabeth folded her arms across her chest.

"I know it's your dad but don't you want to meet him or something? You never know, Thalia and Nico could see you so he might be able to as well."

"That man has been absent my whole life," I said, the words 'my father' feeling wrong in my head. "Why should I go to him now? He thinks I'm dead, I _am _dead so why should I?" I felt deflated, tired. And I realised I was actually asking Annabeth _why _I should want to have anything to do with him. I wanted her to tell me a reason to go and prove this, but instead she started clearing her homework away. I fell onto her bed with a sigh when it was evident she had taken my questions as rhetorical ones.

"I'm going to sleep now Percy," Annabeth said flatly, flicking the light switch off. Her computer screen bathed her bedroom in a sort of glow, but I didn't need the light to see Annabeth pulling the pencils out of her hair and letting her blonde curls loose.

"But Annabeth-"

"It's nearly twelve o'clock, and there's school tomorrow." She continued pushed back her covers, slipping in beside me. I was just lying on top of the bed though, unable to lift the covers.

"Can we just-"

"We'll talk more in the morning, maybe Thalia and Nico will have some useful input." There was silence for a few seconds and the laptop light shut off. Annabeth lay on her side, her back to me.

"I'm not going until you talk to me," I whispered.

"Don't go then," Annabeth replied quietly. I smiled in the darkness; she'd do anything in order to win. Or maybe she wanted me to stay? Why had she been so blunt all of a sudden, anyway? And when had her eyes become so...bright? I could sense her close to me, hear the slowing of her breathing and I felt an impulse greater than anything to reach out and...pull the last pencil out of her hair. I tried to stifle my laughter, clamping a hand firmly over my mouth but for some reason the concept that she'd managed to forget one seemed hilarious.

Then the darkness, more empty blackness than what surrounded me presently engulfed me.

Another flicker.

Only this time I heard...something. A voice? A machine?

There bright flash of light and I saw the ocean for a split second, but the sight caused me physical pain. Through the pain I called out for the one person keeping me anchored to the ground, the one person I trusted above everyone else. The person I think I was beginning to develop stronger than just friendship feelings for.

_"Annabeth."_

? location

? POV

"Again. He did it again."

"Keep an eye, will you? We haven't had further orders and I'd hate for this one to go dying, especially since the media have gotten involved."

"Yeah and his dad's finally turned up, poor sod."

"Hang on, write this down will you, and go get his doctor. What do you say? Ugh, tell him, Percy Jackson is waking up."

**Bleh, obvious what's happening but at least I have a nice little plot twist (ish) sorted out for later. Not especially proud of this chapter but please review, I have too many Sherlock feels :(**


	19. Chapter 19

**Sorry to say this is a bit of a filler chapter to start up the real action. I'm up to season 2 of Merlin and I'm really scared about the last episode, but no spoilers please.**

Chapter 19

Weeks later, yes time really flies :P

Annabeth's POV

Thalia bit into her apple and reclined on the field, closing her eyes.

"So, figured out why Drew's spying on you yet?" She said and Nico gave me a sadistic expression.

"She's not _spying _on me," I reminded her tiredly.

"Yes, she is." Nico sang.

"I don't know why you're all finding this so funny." I replied, trying to keep the worry out of my voice. Percy had sort of...disappeared a while ago. I knew he'd turn up, but I couldn't suppress the nagging sensation that maybe he wouldn't. All my anxieties from when Percy first showed up were back and biting.

"Because you can't stand each other. Remember last week you saw her watching us before school." Thalia said plainly. "I mean I knew she was messed up but she's up to something I'm telling you." I rolled my eyes.

"Right, Thals in case you hadn't noticed we live in reality, not some cheesy tv programme," I pushed my school bag away and leaned back on my arms, absorbing the sun.

"I cannot wait for the holidays." Groaned Thalia.

"That's what you said on the first day of school," a new voice pointed out. I shielded my eyes and saw Percy standing above us.

"Where'd you get to?" Thalia said, propping herself up on her elbows. Percy shrugged her off and sat cross legged on the field.

"Nowhere, anyway, is there a reason Drew's watching you?"

"What?" Percy pointed behind us and sure enough Drew was watching the four, or three from her point of view, of us intently from her posse. When she saw us returning her gaze she smiled, though it looked more of a snarl, and started towards us.

"Oh god," groaned Nico and suddenly became very interested in his shoelaces.

"Hey Annabeth! Thalia, Nico." Drew nodded briskly to them. Thalia groaned.

"What do you want Drew." I nudged her for being rude, though I can't say I wasn't wondering.

"Rude much," scoffed Drew, tossing her glossy black hair over her shoulder. "I came to talk to Annabeth anyway." Thalia raised her eyebrows.

"Oh yeah, I found the face paint I can get it to you tomorrow." She didn't seem thankful or anything just waved her hand and was about to speak when naturally, Thalia interrupted.

"You don't need to bother with that stuff do you Drew? Your face is already painted."

"Thalia." Percy warned, though he and Nico were both chuckling.

"It's for my little cousin's birthday, for your information." Drew took a deep breath, as if she was making an effort to stay calm. "What I came to do was give you this," Drew thrust a flyer in my face. I took it tentatively, scanning it.

"You're inviting me to a party?" I asked incredulously. Drew beamed at me.

"Good so you'll come!"

"I-"

"Sorry guys, invitation only, it's just a small party for a few friends of mine." I couldn't believe how cliche Drew was being about this. Thalia shrugged to show she didn't care, which seemed to slightly annoy Drew.

"See you tomorrow." Drew said and started to leave.

"Wait!" I scrambled to my feet and jogged after her.

Percy's POV

"I'll follow them," I offered, though still feeling queasy from before.

"Percy are you all right?" Thalia called after me but I waved her off and went to see what Annabeth and Drew were talking about.

"_Why_ do you want me to come to this?" Annabeth was saying as I finally caught up. She had a cautious expression on her face, as if worried about what Drew would do next.

"We're friends, aren't we?" Drew replied in an almost accusatory tone. Annabeth hesitated.

"...sure..."

"Great! I'll see you there." Drew's dark eyes gleamed as she turned on her heel and returned to her band of followers.

"Are you going?" Annabeth flinched and turned, it appeared she hadn't seen me.

"I don't see why not. Plus..."

"Plus what?"

"I want to know what she's up to." Annabeth searched my face. "I can't stand thinking there's something _wrong_, can't you?" I could, but not in that way. That flicker before, the disappearance, had filled my veins with what felt like acid. I'd heard voices, and I knew, I _knew _what was going on. And I couldn't bear to tell her, my best friend. I just hoped that maybe I'd see her soon, that I wouldn't end up leaving her even.

"We'd better get back to the others," I offered and Annabeth frowned.

"Are you okay?"

"Fine."

? Location (not that it really matters)

? POV (ditto)

"He moved again today,"

"Perhaps the visit of his dad helped him?"

"Perhaps, yes. Get me bloods, I want to know what state he's in,"

"Sure." He left the room and I swiped up the patient's chart. He'd made significant progress lately, if I hadn't known any better I'd say he may be regaining consciousness. Of course I wasn't foolish enough to speak this aloud, there was no need to gets anyone's hopes up. Especially the father, humph what an untimely appearance he had. Maybe if he'd shown up a few months earlier this could've been prevented. Nether the less, can't change the past. Wait a minute, he's doing it again. This is a sure sign, there's voice, facial movements, his heart rate even speeds up. I should prepare for his waking, they always want water.

"Anna...Beth,"

"Always that name isn't it?" I turned and greeted the entrant, here to collect bloods.

"Yes. I wonder who it is..."

**Review everyone! And please read my story Fates Entwined, it's new and needs support.**

**~MistFloo~**


	20. Chapter 20

**Guess whose birthday's tomorrow? Me of course! (Just in case it wasn't obvious). So to celebrate, here's a super long (for me anyways) major tipping point of the story, enjoy! Oh and, because I know I'll probably get loads of these comments, please don't say anything about the cliche-ness of this, I know. I know. But I out my on spin on it ;)**

Chapter 20

Percy's POV

"I'll pick you up at ten." Frederick said as we were about to get out of the car.

"Dad." Annabeth groaned. The party started at nine. He sighed and weakly nodded in approval at her clothes; jeans and sneakers naturally.

"Fine, later but you know how I feel about these things Annabeth." He put a hand on her shoulder and Annabeth shot him a sweet smile.

"You trust me don't you?" Frederick nodded grudgingly and Annabeth and I climbed onto the street in front of Drew's house. I hadn't told her but I felt like crap, every step seemed to send a shock wave through me. I think, I think I'm nearing the end of my time here. That became clear the other day, I'd only been stupid enough to hope it was just a dream. If I'd told her all this she probably would have told me to stay home though, and there was no way I'd leave to her do this alone. I couldn't shake the feeling that Drew was up to something, and I knew the others agreed. Annabeth waved as her dad drove reluctantly away, and we turned to face to house. Music was already pumping from the building, as well as other shouts and cheers.

"Sounds like fun," Annabeth said sarcastically when we heard the unmistakable sound of breaking glass.

"You don't have to do this, you know," I remind her.

"I know," we walked through the front door.

Once inside the music became almost deafening. People crowded the hallway and it was a struggle for Annabeth to wind her way to a room. Once we were in what must have been the living room she was greeted by a few confused stares.

"They don't know why I'm here," she said out of the corner of her mouth.

"Annie!" Drew appeared from no where, clutching a plastic cup and looking like she could barely stay up right.

"Call me Annabeth,"

"Aw, you're no fun," Drew giggled, pulling at her top. Oh no wait, it was a dress. "Having fun?"

"Too soon to tell," said Annabeth, barely ducking in time to avoid a flying vase.

"Jake! I told you not to..." Drew stalked away crossly to yell at whoever 'Jake' was.

"I swear half of these people don't go to our school," I noticed, wondering where Drew would know all these people from. I caught Annabeth giving me a weird look.

"What?"

'Honestly Percy have you never watched tv?" She smiled to show it was a joke.

"Something tells me, it might not be safe to drink the punch,"

"No really, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said teased. I rolled my eyes and she laughed. More teenagers, some looking older than sixteen, flooded into the room, cheering anew at something we couldn't see. Annabeth was pushed and jostled with the crowd and looked none too pleased about it.

"How about some fresh air?" I offered. Annabeth nodded desperately. I simply walked through people, but of course Annabeth had a worse time of it. On the way out we passed couples, groups of guys discussing sport, people analysing others' outfits, and the occasional person running green-faced to another room. Ah, gotta love parties.

Once we were outside in some sort of courtyard Annabeth laughed aloud.

"What's so funny?" I asked and her laughter turned a bit hysterical.

"Why the hell did I come here tonight? I literally have no idea why I thought this would be a good idea!" She sat down on the edge of a fountain, still smiling. I went to sit down next to her.

"Should've stayed home and watched movies again," I said and Annabeth nodded at the memory. The sound of water behind us was soothing, and a cool night breeze wafted through the outdoors. No one else was out here, all inside having fun. Annabeth was looking out across the sky, thoughtful. The breeze lifted her blonde hair and pulled at her jacket. All of a sudden black spots shot across my vision, and I dug my finger nails into the palms of my hands hard. The spots seemed to pulse and swell, slowly consuming my vision. And in that growing darkness I heard their voices, but I held on tighter. There was no way I would leave Annabeth here alone. Not now, I could resist for a while. I had so much more to say to her.

Annabeth's POV

It was quite beautiful out here in the courtyard, a shame to have the noise from inside ruin the peace.

"I guess I was hoping to find out what Drew wanted tonight, surely she doesn't just like my company. She hated me." I continued, thinking out loud.

"Mm-hm," Percy mumbled. I frowned and looked at him straight on.

"Percy are you all right?" He was clenching his fists and had a sort of strained look on his face.

"Mm? Yeah, I'm fine," he smiled a bit but I wasn't fooled. I the icy grip of fear tighten around me, an unpleasantly familiar sensation.

"What's going on, are you hurting?" Percy looked at me and sighed, hanging his head.

"I'm going," he answered in a low voice.

"Going where?" He didn't answer. "Are you coming back?" He shrugged and shook his head slightly. I felt a knot of dread form in the pit of my stomach.

"Percy you're scaring me." He lifted his head to hold my gaze. His sea green eyes were brighter than when we first met, all of him was. He seemed more alive.

"Don't be scared," he said quietly. "And don't be alone, I-I'll find you. Okay? Jus-just don't be scared." Tears pricked my eyes, what was he saying? Percy slowly moved his hand over mine, and looked sad when just as it always had, his fingers passed right through.

"All I ever wanted was to hold your hand," he said softly and in that instant his face was free of lines, his eyes full of sincerity. Then he dissolved into the air, carried away by the breeze. My hand felt cold, no, my whole body felt cold. Where was he going? Was he coming back? How could I fill the hollowness I felt without him.

"I knew it," came a voice and I shot to my feet. Of of the shadows walked, or staggered, Drew.

"I finally saw you myself," she cackled, but I didn't feel anything. Tears made my vision blurry but I made out her shape moving towards me.

"I don't know what you mean," I answered solemnly.

"No use denying it, I saw you, having that very touching conversation with Percy, was it?" I took a step back. Drew laughed.

"Oh yes, I saw you talking to yourself like the pathetic little girl you are." I was relieved despite her comment; for a second I thought she'd been able to see Percy.

"I think I'll be leaving know." I said and started walking past her. Drew hollered after me all kinds of colourful things about how insane I was, how she was telling everyone et cetera et cetera. I didn't care. I pulled out my phone and began to dial the number.

"Annabeth honey?"

"Dad, can you bring me home?" I asked, wiping my cheek with my sleeve.

"Are you okay?" His voice was concerned, of course.

"I'm fine, I just want to come home."

Doctor Matthew Williams' POV

Percy's father paced the corridor outside, we hadn't allowed him in yet. The boy, Percy, lying on the bed in front of me groaned again. Andrea was holding a cup of water all ready. It wasn't every day a coma patient woke up, and really he was very lucky for only being unconscious for two months.

"Anna-Beth?" He said. The boy's eyelids fluttered and opened, revealing green eyes the same as his father. Speaking of whom, barged through the door. Percy blinked and tried to sit up.

"Ah ah ah, just rest." Andrea said and handed him the cup. He drank eagerly and thanked the nurse.

"Where am I?" Poseidon beamed at him son, and I remembered he hadn't seen him since he says a baby.

"You're at Saint Francis Hospital (idk, google says its good), my name is Doctor Williams and you're-"

"Where's Annabeth?" He interrupted, looking genuinely puzzled. I looked to his father for guidance, but of course he didn't know any of Percy's childhood friends. It's such a shame for a boy so young to go through so much trauma, and it's hard for them to understand what's going on at first.

"You've been in a coma for two months," I tried again and Percy looked more confused.

"But I was twelve when I had the accident," he said.

"You remember the accident?" Poseidon said and Percy saw him; his eyes widened and his jaw went slack.

"Yes you were..." I said, wondering what this was all about.

"But you said I'd only been asleep for two months," he said. I nodded and gestured to the glass door. Percy turned to look at his reflection, and in the glass I saw his expression turn alarmed.

"What's going on?" Andrea asked quietly. I shrugged, unsure myself.

Narrator blah, you'll get what I mean POV

Annabeth woke up on her twelfth birthday to an empty room.

She faced the death of her mother, alone.

The remarriage of his father, alone.

She found Thalia and Nico, after years of sinking in her own sadness, and they helped her feel alive again.

She didn't go to Drew's party when she was sixteen, she wasn't invited.

Percy and her grew up, but they did not forget each other.

**Not over yet, fellow readers, stay tuned. Just a clue; what happens next has been mentioned earlier! And please, I know this is the billionth time I've asked you but read this story of mine:**

** s/9421251/1/Fates-Entwined**

**Thanks!**

**~MistFloo~**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hey everyone! It's been a long week of Merlin, Divergent, and British youtubers. Here's the next chapter, hope you enjoy. Oh and sorry about the last chapter, hopefully this should clear things up a bit. Massive thank you to everyone who's followed and favourited me! **

Chapter 21

Annabeth's POV

I checked my watch, panting as I climbed up the steps to my front door. Half past six, plenty of time to prepare for school. Sue was waiting in the dining room with a cup of something hot.

"And where were you?" She demanded as soon as I shut the door behind me. I mentally groaned.

"I went for a run," I told her tiredly and began walking to the bathroom.

"You can't just leave like that without warning, you should've left a note or-"

"I couldn't sleep, okay? And I go for a run anyway so I didn't think you'd mind," I shut the door before she could rant about responsibility. She was like this all the time; either ignoring me or picking at little things I did. Maybe I should've said something, but no one was awake when I left. The reason I couldn't sleep was the same as usual; dream. It wasn't a bad dream or a nightmare, but I always woke early and then felt down about it not being real. I didn't get them very often anymore, at least. It was about another world, another time..I don't know. The details are always hazy. But I had this really great friend, what was his name? Percy, that's it. Yeah and I don't know, he was great. How sad is that, I dreamed of having a best friend. I already have friends, amazingly. I haven't told them about my dreams though, is it normal to have recurring ones like this? I didn't want anyone to think of me as a freak. And it's been like this since I was 12 as well, not just a recent development. Sometimes I wonder what it'd be like if Percy really was here. If anything would be different. If I would be different. But that's what's sad about reality, nothing exciting or out of the ordinary happens. We can read as much as we want, watch as much television and dream about these things as much as we please, but that doesn't change reality. Because Percy wasn't just a person, he was a ghost. And his life had been even more messed up than mine.

There was a banging on the shower wall, followed by a shout from one of my little step-brothers.

"All right, all right!" I reluctantly shut the water off, before I ended up falling under a trance in the steady rush of hot water. And before I start questioning my life further. It seems to happen to everyone, so I'm not that weird.

At school

"Oh my gosh Nico can you just-ugh!" Thalia stood up from the field we normally sat on for lunch and stormed off to her locker. Nico smirked in victory while I laughed.

"You shouldn't wind her up like that, she'll get you back," I said.

"At least she's learnt her lesson about treating me like her butler," Nico pointed out. I shook my head. Even the tiniest conflict and they completely go off at each other. He adjusted so we were closer together.

"So how are the evil step family?"

"Fine I guess," I started picking at the grass.

"What happened?" Nico asked after I didn't say anything. I sighed.

"I just don't get why they hate me, and why Dad doesn't do anything," I never felt whiny and annoying when I talked to Nico about these things, him and Thalia were like siblings to me. The difference was Thalia told me to suck it up and move on, she'd tell me we all have problems to deal with, and I'm not the worst off. But Nico and I listened to each other, and I can say it was refreshing.

"She's just jealous of you," Nico said. I looked up skeptically, then returned to the grass.

"Jealous, yeah, sure,"

"Because you're obviously your dad's favourite. He's proud of you and doesn't hide it, and Sue wants him to abandon you because your his first wife's daughter," I shivered involuntarily and hoped he hadn't noticed. 'First wife', shouldn't it be only wife?

"That's a horrible theory," Nico chuckled.

"She's jealous because her husband has such a smart, athletic, funny, beautiful daughter who..." Nico was still talking but all I heard were the screech of brakes. What did he just say? Nico reached out tentatively and took my hand, while I could only stare at the ground.

"All I ever wanted was to hold your hand." Who...when was that?

"Anna- Aarg!" Nico jumped and water splashed me a bit. Thalia was behind us, still chasing Nico squirting him with her water bottle. I watched and tried to get me heart to regain beating. Ugh. Ughed ugh ugh. No offence to Nico, but he's like a little brother to me. This was going to be an awkward conversation, an inevitable awkward conversation.

Percy's POV

"Check up at the hospital tomorrow, don't let me forget," my dad called before he ran out the door to work with a quick 'goodbye'. Oh yay, another check up. I'd been going there for the last four years of my life, incredible that I still had to go. Apparently they were making mental inquiries after I kept calling out to someone called Annabeth. Who I'd never met before. You know how I found that out? Turns out my dad is pretty wealthy and after I'd told them about Gabe, we tracked him down. Which wasn't hard, he'd already been questioned by the police after the car accident. He is now locked up, for however long. Poseidon, my dad, went to great lengths to make sure I stayed out of it and avoided stress. This was of course when I pointed out he'd been ship-wrecked, and hadn't seen me since I was a baby. I think we both should've been avoiding stress. I got up and started walking to my bedroom in the apartment when I saw my reflection. I stopped and stared. Sure, I was no stranger to my own face, but apparently when I'd first woken up I was convinced I was sixteen, and had to get used to my own body and reflection. I still got these dreams, not very often and I can't really remember them once I wake up. They're about a girl, who I really like. I can't picture her face just now.

The phone started ringing and I picked it up, being home alone and all.

"Hey it's Rachel," came the voice at the other end. She was a friend from school. For some reason it seemed weird to have company.

"Hi,"

"Just wondering if you could come tomorrow?" She asked. The thing I loved about Rachel was that she was super confident, I never once heard her voice falter or see her huddle away. She wanted to face everything.

"Oh sorry, I have an appointment at the hospital," Rachel groaned.

"Great now I'm stuck being the third wheel did Grover and Juniper, see you at school then," she said cheerily then hung up just as I said bye. I felt bad for condemning her to an afternoon of third wheeling, but this wasn't something I could ignore. Rachel and I dated for a little while, but I think both of us weren't really into it. I was glad we could become friends, and somehow it wasn't awkward.

Instead of lying around as usual, and I didn't feel like facing my homework, I decided to go for a run. I used it as a release, as a source of peace. Once you were running you couldn't think about anything but the sound of your own breath and your feet hitting the pavement. It helped me to stop stressing about my dreams, and that girl. She was my best friend, but I think I liked her more than that.

As I set out with my phone and keys, I wondered if she liked me the same way.

**Wah, my holidays are almost over :(**

**I'm probably overestimating my popularity here but seeing as this story is actually almost over, sniff, you guys could ask me some semi-personal questions. Obviously I'm not giving you my address or full name, but maybe you want to get to know me...?**

**Review please!**

**~MistFloo~**


	22. Chapter 22

**Hello everyone! Thanks for the questions and the lovely reviews everyone, here are some answer:**

**Fav colour: blurple, it's a blend of blue and purple.**

**Fav song: C'mon by Panic! At the Disco, really catchy.**

**If I could date a PJO or HoO character who: um... I don't want to break up percabeth so I'd probably say Leo, seeing as he's awesome.**

**What year in school: year 9**

**Considered doing a non-canon pairing: no, my heart wouldn't be in it, I'm purely percabeth and no alternate pairings for them.**

**How long have you been writing: for fun? Really just the end of last year. But I've always enjoyed writing for school.**

**Considered pursuing writing as a career: yes, in fact I've started a book of my own. But my primary goal is to become a surgeon, so it's more of a dream for me that probably won't come true.**

**Hobbies: I play violin and cello, waterpolo and netball, have done a bit of javelin and did competitive swimming for four years a while ago. **

**Celeb crush: Morgan Colin, only he's way too old :( he plays Merlin btw**

**Fav book genres and book: definitely fantasy, I love diving into different worlds. Favourite book series...I really like Goose Girl, they're really nice books.**

**First name: don't laugh, you may recognise it from another story of mine but that was just for fun okay, my name's Florence.**

**Fav PJO character: Annabeth, she's a fantastic role model.**

**Fav food: STRAWBERRIES**

**Fav tv show: I'm torn between Doctor Who which I've watched since I was five, Sherlock which is amazing and Merlin.**

**Sorry for such a long A/N but I wanted to answer all of them. And hey, if you're on holiday and don't know which country to come to, come to New Zealand, you won't be disappointed ;) on with the story...**

Chapter 22

Percy's POV

My dad picked me up from school a few minutes early, leaving Rachel stranded with Grover and Juniper. I'd laughed at her expression when I left them; her sitting awkwardly beside the couple who were busy holding hands and whispering to each other. Gag. But she'd promised to make me pay later, despite my good excuse.

We were battling the atrocious traffic to meet with Matthew, or Dr Williams. Over the years he'd basically become a family friend, we'd had to go visit him so much. At first it'd been pretty awkward, and I had to explain the whole Annabeth matter. I can't believe I managed to dream up the perfect girl, and even then I couldn't tell her I liked her. Listen to me, I still sound like a twelve year old.

"So, how's your day been so far?" Dad asked. I recounted the events; assembly, projects, internals, an ordinary day.

"I heard you get up this morning," who's awake at four in the morning? maybe I woke him. "Is everything all right?" I blanched. I was about to say I just couldn't sleep, but his concerned expression worried me.

"Why wouldn't it be?" Dad turned a corner and shrugged.

"You haven't been sleeping all too well recently, I was thinking maybe you could discuss that with Matthew-"

"I'm fine, it's nothing," I said quickly. I didn't want to relive that dream, the one where I left her behind on her own. I'd woken shivering, as if the cool night breeze was still surrounding me, and Annabeth's broken expression lingering in my mind. Even for a dream I felt like I'd abandoned her, and it's hard to keep saying she's not real.

"Course it's not," Dad sighed, parking the car outside the hospital. "C'mon."

Annabeth's POV

"You know we don't like cheese Annabeth, you did this on purpose!" Screeched Bobby. My step brothers sat at the table launching sandwich projectiles at each other. I felt my face shift, as I tried to quell the flare of anger. I have to make them lunch because Sue's out, and suddenly they don't seem to like food.

"Will you stop making a mess, you'll have to clean it up," I say with obvious restraint. My step brothers don't seem to hear me. There's a knock at the door and I go to answer, rubbing my temples when I hear their cackling behind me. When I open the door Nico is standing before me, and Thalia is walking slowly down the street. Uh oh.

"Annabeth can I talk to you?" Nico says with nervous energy. I hear a thump from the kitchen and wince.

"I'm a bit busy right now," I wish Thalia would hurry up. Nico glances down at my clothes and raises his eyebrows. When I'd gotten home I'd retreated initially to my room, changing into a baggy t-shirt and sweatpants. I had to be comfortable when I worked on my building plans, it was my dream to be an architect, so focus was essential. Nico smiled.

"I can see that, but it will only take a minute," I hear a smash behind me and everything goes silent. I try counting to ten, its supposed to be a calming technique.

"Um Annabeth, I just wanted you to know that I really-" something hits the back of my head, and I can't take it anymore.

"Right, that is it!" I turn around to see Bobby and Mat standing at the end of the hallway, forgotten smiles on their faces fading rapidly.

"Make your own damn lunch if you're so unhappy with it, I give up," I slam the front door. "Nico, I'm really sorry, but you're like my little brother, my friend and I can't..." Nico flushed and looked at his feet. I struggled for more words, and ended up running.

"Annie!" Thalia called but I was running down the street, to the park, into the trees. Away. I didn't care what I looked like or what I was leaving behind. I didn't care how much Sue would yell at me when I got back. I just couldn't take being near them right now. I ended up walking through my usual running route, a dirt trail through the trees I always found better than running where people could see me.** (A/N idk if there's places like this in New York, but they're everywhere where I live)** I sat down on a park bench and held my head in my hands. I felt bad for saying that to Nico, but it was the truth, and I didn't want to lie to him. Things were complicated enough. And to be honest, I haven't had a real crush since...I can't even remember. Everyone seemed to be interested in each other, but I guess I was just caught up over the guy I dreamt up to be the perfect best friend, and the perfect person.

I sat up, bringing my hands down on the seat either side of me. I liked Percy, liked liked him. For some reason that felt important. I remember the way he would run his hand through his hair when he was at a loss for words, his crooked but disarming smile, his loyalty.

"He's a figment of my imagination, it's almost as bad as a fictional crush," I mutter to myself. Or is it worse? My hand felt a bit itchy, almost prickly but I ignored it.

"Annie! Are you there?" Thalia's voice sang through the trees. She jogged out onto the track in front of me and smiled. "Finally," she was wearing her standard leather jacket and boots, heavy eyeliner and black top with the name of a band I didn't know. She approached a bit.

"I thought I told you not to call me Annie." I said lightheartedly. Thalia rolled her eyes but then froze, standing up straighter. I felt another prickle on my hand.

"Don't. Move." Thalia says, her eyes practically bugging out of her head, and fixed on my hand. I felt a shiver go down my spine.

"Why? What's-" I looked at my hand and my stomach dropped. Resting on my hand was a brown, probably two-inch-long spider with a strange pattern on its back. No wonder Thalia had froze, I'd told her about my allergy. I tried my hardest to calm my now racing heart, choking on a scream I couldn't let out. Fear made my vision tunnel.

"Annabeth, just stay calm okay? It won't bite unless its provoked," Thalia tries to say calmly, but the memories from when I was bitten as a kid flashed in my mind. A violent shiver coursed my body. How could I not have noticed? I was too preoccupied in my own petty problems. I realised I was shaking, and tears were stinging my eyes.

"It's just a spider Annabeth, it's okay..." But it wasn't just a spider, I could _die_. The creature was covered in bristly hairs that tickled my hand, and I swallowed the bile rising in my throat. _Don't move, don't move_. The only thought I could form. If I just wait, it'll leave.

"It's okay, I'm here.." Thalia continues. The spider stretches out its legs and I clench my eyes shut, feeling that if I watch it any longer I'm going to throw up. I feel it moving slowly, so slowly, toward my wrist and I can't help it. That thing cannot stay on my any longer. I jump to my feet, not thinking as I shake my whole body, jumping up and down and feeling a petrified scream tears from my throat. Definitely not dignified, but it wasn't exactly on my mind. After I calmed down and was able to stop moving, save for the shivers, I faced a terrified looking Thalia. She was holding a phone up to her ear, but she looked like she was scared of me. I shook my head, and found the movement made it throb painfully. I looked down at my hand, where the spider had been moments before and prayed it was gone. When I moved everything shifted, but what I faced was what sent me over the edge.

"I need an ambulance for my friend, she's been bitten by a spider and she's allergic, oh god, we're at..." Thalia's voice faded out, and the dizziness became more profound. On my hand, the bite had already become red and slightly swollen. My throat felt raw, and I didn't know if it was a reaction or not. Finally, the ground slipped away, and blackness engulfed me.

Percy's POV

Matthew was talking to Dad about my progress inside his office. I waited in the corridor, bored out of my mind. Apparently my check ups will become much less often now, apparently I'm doing well. I liked to think so, seeing as I'm in perfect health and not too traumatised by the fact that I was unconscious for two months. I was on the second floor, but I could see some of the floor below through the windows...inside. They seem to think having glass and metal inside buildings look more modern. Anyway, I could see some nurses and doctors gathered by the ambulance entry, which let me know an emergency has occurred. I wondered briefly what it was; a fire, a broken bone, a fall. I didn't have to wonder long. Some of the medical professionals jogged out side, to collect the stretcher. I'd become accustomed to the practises over the years of waiting outside and watching the doctors at work. The other nurses began fussing over the stretched as it was wheeled in. The girl lying on the stretcher was shaking. Her eyes were puffy and red, but closed. Se had curly blond hair, familiar blond hair. Once I thought about it, she was very familiar. From here I could see her heaving chest and I knew she was finding it hard to breathe. I watched them take her into the emergency ward, saying things urgently to one another. They ran through the doors so she was gone, but I felt like I should know her. Another girl walked through the ambulance entrance, with punk clothing and running eye make-up. She wiped her cheeks and took a seat in the hallway. I knew her, she was my friend Thalia. At the same time I knew I'd never met her in real life.

I met her in a dream.

And before I even knew what I was doing, I was sprinting down the hospital stairs, not bothering with the elevator, because I knew who the blonde girl was. She was my best friend.

Annabeth the Wise-Girl.

**Haha, didn't think I'd give you everything now, did ya? You'll have to wait until next week for the next chapter. Leave me a review, it takes two seconds and makes me smile, which is a good deed ;)**

**~MistFloo~**


	23. Chapter 23

**I could have done some seriously evil stuff in this chapter and made it about twice as long, but I decided not to give you any more heart attacks. I warn you, it's pretty fluffy at the end.**

Chapter 23

Percy's POV

I jumped down sets of stairs and glided across the linoleum until before barging straight into Annabeth's room.

"Hey! You can't go in there!" A voice shouted behind me and Thalia marched in, looking absolutely terrifying. Her make up was running from tears and her cheeks were splotchy and red from anger. I didn't care though, I couldn't believe she was even real. There was just one nurse going about her business when I entered the room, it seemed my sprinting had been seriously hindered by me not wanting to fall down the stairs and break my neck. I was frozen before her bed though, repeatedly pinching my arm to make sure this wasn't a dream. The door was pushed open behind me and Thalia walked in, looking ready to burst until she stopped in front of me.

"YOU-" she stopped. "Percy?" I met her eyes. "Are you real?" I opened my arms and she stood back a bit, her expression slightly fearful. Then she sobbed and nearly tackled me. We hugged for what felt like minutes, and I didn't feel the slightest bit uncomfortable with the nurse watching us quizzically. We separated and Thalia wiped her face with her sleeve.

"How she doing?" I asked the nurse.

"She hasn't gone into anaphylaxis and should recover soon with the treatment we gave her," she replied calmly. "She might be unconscious for some while, once she woke from her faint we had to give her a sedative,"

"She was bitten by a spider," Thalia informed me quietly. I think I felt my heart speed up.

"She was terrified of them, bitten once as a little kid this would've been awful." I slipped into the plastic chair by her bed.

"I'll be back in a short while," the nurse said, taking a small stack of papers with her.

"Percy where've you been, I thought you weren't real..." Thalia said behind me.

"Same with me, I thought you were all a dream. I got to grow up with my dad Thals, have some proper family." My voice cracked a bit. After a few seconds Thalia spoke again.

"I should go call Nico, and her family, poor Frederick," I nodded without turning and neared her footsteps moving toward the door. She paused.

"I always knew you two were more than friends you, good luck," she left. I slipped my hand into Annabeth's, closing my fingers around hers and placing my other hand on top. I felt her warmth and her pulse. I watched her breathing steady itself and wondered how long it would take for her to wake up. I felt tired from my week of sleepless nights and rested my head by her side, closing my heavy eyes.

Thalia's POV

A man with an uncanny resemblance to Percy stepped out of the elevator and looked around. He caught sight of me outside Annabeth's room having finished my calls a while ago and approached. He had to be Poseidon.

"Sorry to ask but have you seen my son? He's about your age, black hair, green eyes..." His gaze shifted to behind me and I suddenly thought how it might be awkward for him to see his son about to meet his soul mate. Yeah I didn't really believe in that crap, but honestly those two were meant to be.

"My name's Thalia," I blurted and stuck out my hand. He took it uncertainly.

"I have seen your son I think, um,"

"Where is she, where's Annabeth!" Oh no. Sue stormed up to me without sparing Poseidon a glance. Frederick was managing a pathetic looking Bobby and Matt while looking like he could barely hold it tougher himself.

"Annabeth?" Poseidon asked Sue. She ignored him and looked behind me. Wait were there tears in her eyes? Oh no.

"Annabeth!" She pushed the door open and I closed my eyes, hearing her ask incredulously who Percy was. When I opened them Poseidon was staring red-faced at Percy who was in the process of being dragged out of the room.

"I'm her friend!" Percy shouted.

"Funny because I've never heard her mention you,"

"Is Annabeth going to be okay?" Bobby asked Frederick who was staring vacantly.

"It's my fault.." He muttered.

"Is he your son?" Sue demanded of Poseidon who nodded stiffly. Sue proceeded to yell at both of them for imposing on her daughter's (what? Why the sudden affection?) privacy et cetera. Then I heard a scream. Half the ward jumped in surprise and the rest of us gathered outside Annabeth's room turned to look through at her. A couple of doctors were in the room trying to calm her it looked like, but I almost couldn't bear to watch.

Annabeth's POV

"Get them off me!" I screamed. Spiders crawled over my skin, up and down my legs over my arms up to my face. I kept my eyes shut, terrified to open them.

"Annabeth calm down, you're all right-" an unfamiliar voice said and I felt hands on my shoulders. But I could feel them, ready to bite. I sobbed and tried to relax. My breaths were shaky, but I could still feel them.

"Thank you, we wouldn't want to have to give you another injection," a slightly scolding voice said. Where am I? Am I still in the park? No I couldn't be, I was lying down on something soft.

"S-spiders-"

"They're gone, no more spiders," I could hear a high pitched 'beep' noise. Was that...

"Where am I?" I asked.

"Why don't you open your eyes and see for yourself," a new voice. Except I knew it. Hs voice was deep but soft, one I'd listened to for years in my dreams. Does that mean I'm asleep?

"Open your eyes Wise Girl," I opened one carefully and sure enough; no spiders. To my right was a heart monitor beeping away and someone in scrubs. I was in hospital, that's good. I guess I'm not going to die at least. Someone was holding my hand and tracing circles on it, it was a comforting movement. I managed to turn my head to the other side and had to blink to make sure I was awake. He smiled at me, his lop sided smile that accentuated his sharp cheekbones and strong jaw. His raven hair was messier than ever and his green eyes twinkled slightly.

"Hey Seaweed Brain," I said in a croaky voice. My throat was very dry. The only other person in the room was sitting writing busily in the corner so I ignored him.

"Are you real?" I asked, I had to know. Percy shrugged.

"If I weren't real would I be able to do this?" He squeezed his hand around mine.

"Or this?" He stood up and reached out to push a loose strange of air off my face, his fingers grazing my cheek. My face burned as the beeping sped up. Percy laughed and I forgot all about the spiders. I couldn't believe this was happening, he's real.

"Or this?" He whispered and leaned over, his hand cupping my face as he pressed his mouth to mine. I think my mind may have imploded because suddenly I was thoughtless, speechless in that moment. I kissed him back, something I was proud of because all other kinds of functioning seemed to have shut down.

"Annabeth?" Percy stood up and whirled around. A very confused looking Sue was standing in the doorway along with Dad, Thalia, Nico, Poseidon whom I recognised from the tv ages ago and my step-brothers. The heart monitor was racing and Percy's cheeks were flushed while we waited for them to say something.

"So she _does _know you.." Percy smiled awkwardly.

"Pretty well I'd say," said Frederick, narrowing his eyes at Poseidon.

"I'd agree with that," said Thalia with a bit of a smirk. My hand found Percy's as they came into the room and I began to tell them what happened.

"When did you two meet is what I want to know," Sue said when I finished.

"That, that is a _long _story."

**I cannot thank you all enough for this amazing experience, my first really successful story. This is the last chapter but I'll release an epilogue and I won't be doing a sequel, I'll just end up ruining it. Follow me for more Percabeth stories I have some really great ideas that I think you'll all love such as a superhero story coming up when I finish this. Review please, I love to hear feedback!**

**~MistFloo~**


	24. Epilogue

**Last entry ever! This is exciting, I've been writing this about four months and the support has been phenomenal, I really appreciate it. I wish I could say an individual thank you to each and every one of you who's read, reviewed or followed this story and I hope you liked it.**

Epilogue

Annabeth's POV

"Okay! See you guys tomorrow!" I called behind me to Nico and Thalia, standing with stunned expressions as Nico's dad met them at the school gates. He looked tired but awake and sober, something I gathered he hadn't been for a very long time. I almost ran down the street, eager not to be late. It had been a week since I was discharged from hospital after they had made me stay the night for monitoring. Percy had been practically dragged from the room by a very confused Poseidon. Dad had lectured me about boys and responsibility and surprisingly, Sue backed me up. Bobby and Matt were back to pestering me but I didn't mind anymore. It's just what little brothers did.

I hadn't realised I'd been half-jogging, half-walking with my eyes on the pavement and slammed into someone else. They caught me by the shoulders and I was about to apologise profusely when I realised who it was.

"Nice going Seaweed Brain," realisation spread visibly over Percy's face; his mouth curved into a cute half-smile, his eyebrow raised slightly and his hands rested on my waist.

"You got here fast," he said.

"I didn't even realise, I was a million miles away," I stood on my tip toes and pecked Percy on the cheek.

"How was your day?" I asked and he grasped my hand.

"Over a smoothie?" I nodded and we ducked into the nearest cafe.

We met up after school practically everyday to catch up, talk, go for a long walk, not through the park of course. We still didn't know how we knew each other, how any of that had happened. I began to wonder whether there was any real explanation, if I would ever know. And I _hated _not knowing. I only had ten minutes before I had to be home to babysit _again_, so we only had a quick chat. We held hands the whole time. It was great having a solid best friend and...boyfriend. I was still getting used to that word, used to saying, thinking it. Percy was my boyfriend, it still sent a warm feeling to the pit of my stomach. I kissed him goodbye, I was still getting used to that too, and we set off in our different directions.

_Several hours later_

I drew the curtains, grabbed my phone and jumped into bed. The twins were in bed, so was Sue and Dad was clearing up the kitchen downstairs. I flicked off the light switch and pulled the warm covers up to my chin and dialled the number.

"Hi Wise Girl," Percy whispered into the phone.

"Hey,"

We spent half the night talking just like we used to.

And so in a way we finished the story in the same way began; I woke up to my best friend one day when it felt like life was becoming too much for me, we helped each other through our traumas, and we listened to each other's whispers in the dark like the other was lying beside us. And I couldn't hope for a more boring, ordinary life after this, and I was glad to spend it with him.

**The end. **

**~MistFloo~**


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